


Gravity Will Fall

by ButterNutter101



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Dimension Travel, F/M, Gravity Falls Oregon, Gravity Falls References, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2020-10-16 22:42:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20610563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterNutter101/pseuds/ButterNutter101
Summary: One night, you fall asleep in your friend's home, but awaken in an entirely different world. Stranded in the middle of the forest, you will soon realize that you, somehow, teleported into one of your favorite series in existence.





	1. Typical Day

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

_'I hate school...' _

These three words kept repeating in your mind.

'_I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. Done with it. Sick of it. Yet I'm still here...'_

You were currently in your math class, in other words, the last period of the day. You glanced at the clock to check the time. _'2:13? **UUGGH. **Why can't it be 2:30 already?!_' You screamed in your mind. You placed your head in the palm of your hands to show everyone, especially that **darn **teacher, that you were over this subject. (B/f/n) turned their head to the right and looked down at you, pity being the first emotion they felt. They could _feel_ the intense amount of _boredom_ radiating out of your head. They sighed to gather your attention. 

"Chin up, (Y/n), school's almost over." 

"Who says _'Chin up' _anymore?"

"I do, now be quiet and pay attention."

You sighed loudly and slammed your forehead onto the desk. Immediately, you shot right up after the impact. "Shouldn't have done that..." You groaned as you rubbed your head. A couple of students laughed at your stupid mistake, heck, even (B/f/n) giggled a little. You shot a glare their way, which caused (B/f/n) to become silent.

As the final bell _finally_ rang, you did not hesitate to leave the classroom, (B/f/n) holding onto your backpack in order to not get lost within the crowd. "FINALLY!" You shouted, startling nearby students who passed the two of you.

Oops. 

"(Y/n)! Lower your voice please!" (B/f/n) asked in a hushed tone, sending those you scared apologetic smiles since you weren't going to. 

"You ready to go to your house?" You asked as you grinned at your comrade. "Oh geez'... Tell me how I _already_ know what you wanna do?" (B/f/n) rolled their head to the side and groaned. The duo stepped outside, footsteps in unison. You shoved your friend forward, careful not to push too hard or they'd fall down the stairs. _Like_ _last_ _time_.

"Yep! Staying up late!" You ran pass (B/f/n) and kicked a rock into the street. (B/f/n) continued your sentence, "Eat all the junk food we want! And- I'm guessing we're going to binge watch an entire T.V. series!" (B/f/n) placed a finger underneath their chin, "But what show?..." 

You scoffed, walking a few feet ahead of (B/f/n), "Anything you want. I don't care, it's your house after all..." (B/f/n) smirked. "How about Gravity Falls?" 

"What are we standing around here for? Let's go to your house already!" (B/f/n) slumped their shoulders as they watched you take off into an energetic sprint for their house.

"(Y/N)! WAIT!"

"Are we almost done? I'm tired..."

"Shut up! We're only halfway into season one!" 

There the two of you were, sitting together in the dark inside (B/f/n)'s room. Both you and (B/f/n) were huddled up together, staring at a dimmed down laptop screen. (B/f/n) couldn't hang anymore, so they started to fall asleep **on** you, resting their head on top of yours. You nudged them slightly and mumbled, "Stay up (B/f/n)! This is a good episode!" 

**SNORE**

"(B-B/f/n)! Stay awake! We're almost.....almost...."


	2. Sun-Blocking Stranger

_'Am I...falling? It feels like I'm falling, slowly but surely.'_

You _were_ falling, but only for a moment, so that falling sensation quickly faded away.

_'I'm on something... Something soft.’ _

And on top of that, it feels like a bright light is hitting your eyes. You opened them and see... the sky? 

_'What?! I was just at (B/f/n)'s house! In their room! Falling asleep while watching-'_

"What the?..."

You sat up and realized you were, somehow, in the middle of an empty field of grass, with a thick and mysterious forest surrounding it. You looked around, twisting your head from side to side, not bothering to stand up, your legs would've given out on you anyways....

_'How in the world did I get here...Wait a minute...Where** IS **here?'_

"(L/N)!"

_'That voice... Why does it sound so familiar?'_

**"(L/N)!"**

_'Obviously male-'_

**"AH!"** you exclaimed. You lifted your dominant hand up to your forehead, placing your palm against it. A sudden, throbbing pain erupting from the depths of your mind. You fell backwards onto the grass and closed your eyes tightly. 

_'M-My head..it hurts...Why the heck does it-'_ Suddenly, the pain faded away. You removed your hand but decided to keep your eyes shut, but not so tightly. You sighed into the air, silently remaining on the itchy grass. _'Okay, think (Y/n), you woke up in the middle of a forest with no knowledge of where you actually** are- **__or__ **any** sense of direction- __or__ **how** to get out of here! There's also some **random** guy who seems to know your last name and is hunting you down...'_

You opened your eyes and laughed nervously. "Is this some sort of prank? This has to be. Ha-ha, (B/f/n). You got me." You grumbled your declaration of defeat to your best friend who obviously wasn't there. You continued to rest on the somewhat soft, green grass, with the sun warming your face. Your eyes shut close as your mind began to race with ideas, _'Just-stay calm. Don't panic. Panicking doesn't get anyone anywhere...' _So that's what you decided to do, remain calm......That is until something blocked out the light from shining onto your face, and the presence of someone leering over you was painfully noticeable. 

** _'Panic.'_ **

Your eyes shot open to find the culprit who blocked out the sun. You were expecting a guy, preferably the one who was calling out your last name, but you were greeted with someone completely different. Someone you never would have expected you'd meet in your life. Were your stupid, tired eyes playing a trick on you? Apparently they weren't, for it was your (e/c) eyes vs. green eyes. (E/c) vs. green. You had to scoot back to get a better look at the sun-blocking stranger.

_'Scooting back didn't help at all...'_

Now the sun is shining in your **own** eyes and all you could see was a silhouette of their body. Tall, slim, wearing a hat?

"Wow dude, did I scare you that easily? Didn't expect you to be that big of a wimp (Y/n)!" The stranger teased. You blocked out the sun with your hand, gaining a better view of who you were talking to. You couldn't believe it. 

_'Green eyes...'_

"Hey man, you alright?"

_'Red hair...'_

"We've been looking everywhere for you."

_'Freckles...'_

"Are you gonna talk back or just sit there with your mouth hanging open?"

_"It can't be...It's impossible! ...Isn't it?'_

"Wendy?...."

"....Yeah?"


	3. Corduroy

"I-It's you!" You yelled and pointed at her. "It's you!" She gasped with sarcasm, mimicking your previous words and actions. **Wendy** shook her head. **Wendy.** "I swear you get weirder everyday (Y/n)!" She chuckled, then plopped herself right in front of you.

_'Oh my gosh, Wendy-**Flipping**-Corduroy is sitting right in front of me! How in the world is that even possible?!'_

"Did you seriously waste your break by coming all the way out here instead of goofing around with me?"

You couldn't even respond to her. This was the first time you've ever been truly speechless.

"Vent to me kid, I can sense something's wrong... Why_** are you**_ all the way out here... and all alone?" She questioned, sitting with her legs crossed and leaning towards you, waiting for an answer. You took this opportunity to study her face. Look at her. **Look at her! **It's crazy! She looks so realistic. She looks nothing **and** looks exactly like the cartoon. She has more freckles than you could count- Her long, red hair was flowing in the breeze, and her thick, red lashes fluttered about, anxiously waiting for you to respond! 

_'She looks so amazing! Like an angel! An animated angel that came to life! I swear if this is a dream, I never want to wake up! Ever!'_

It took every ounce in your body to not scream with joy at the top of your lungs! Your hands were trembling with anticipation, then it all hit you, _'If Wendy is here, then are __ALL __of the other characters from Gravity Falls here as well? That would be insane! Just imagine, Soos and Stanley and Dipper and Mabel and- Hold up, I'm getting ahead of myself!'_

_'But I have** so** many questions to ask! I'm too excited!'_

_'Okay, think (Y/n), if you're actually in Gravity Falls, or you know, this could be some **crazy** coincidence, then what episode are you exactly in... or on?'_ You rubbed your forehead. _'This is hurting my head, **way** too much thinking. So many questions, so little time...'_

"Hey, it's okay if you don't wanna tell me..." Wendy reassured you. To be honest, you kind of forgot she was only a foot away. Oops. _'Speaking of questions...'_

"How do you know me Wendy?" 

She stared at you with little to no emotion on her face, then she started to laugh, **loudly**. She was laughing so much, she fell backwards onto the grass! "Um, Wendy?" You tilted your head, eyes filled with amusement. "Wow! Are you serious? You can’t be serious. Is this some sort of weird prank?"

“Uh...No?”

She sat up, wiping a nonexistent tear from her eye. "Dude! We met like _years _ago! How can you forget?!" She explained it all with a smile on her face. "Years?" You yelped.

_'That can't be right, I just got here!'_

"Yeah! I was twelve, you were nine- I think. We met at the park one day, don't you remember?"

"H-How?!"

_'She was twelve, I was nine?! So, wait, she's fifteen in the show, so I'm guessing... Does that make me **twelve**?'_

"**How?** Seriously? We've both lived out here in Gravity Falls for who knows how long. Practically forever." She stated. Your eyes grew wide. "How do **you** know I've lived here for years, huh?" You retorted with a stuck-up tone and crossed your arms.

"Well,_ duh,_ Stan practically raised you."

**STAN RAISED ME?!**

_'It's as if I've lived here instead of the real world my entire life... Does everyone have false memories with me in them, and if they have memories where I'm involved in their lives, then how come I don't have any? I should play along, and hopefully, something will click into my brain eventually.'_

"Oh yeah! I'm **so **forgetful sometimes!" You unconvincingly chuckled. "So, why are you looking for me anyways?" You asked the red-haired teen.

"You kind of disappeared over your break-"

_'Break?'_

"-and Stan started freaking out, big time. We've been looking for you for like, ten minutes, so we better head back. Stan's **super **pissed, dude." She stood up and extended a hand towards you. "P-Pissed?!" You stuttered. "Yep! You're in **big** trouble, and I can't **wait **to see how it all plays out!" She added. You frowned, "Thanks, you're a real friend Wendy." You grabbed her hand, the mere contact making your heart race.

_'I can't believe WENDY is helping me stand up! This is totally awesome!'_

"Yeah, but I'm like- your **best** friend, so what did you expect?" She commented. _'Best friend?! Sorry (B/f/n), but you just got replaced!'_

"Let's head back!" You shouted out, and for no reason too. "That was the plan, (L/n)." The teen sassed back. The two of you walked through the forest along a dirt path._ 'Are we heading to the Mystery Shack? Please tell me we're heading to the Mystery Shack; I will **freak out** if we're-'_

"(L/n)! Corduroy! Where are you two?!" a voice called out. _'That's the same voice from earlier...'_

"Uh oh, that's Stan dude!" Wendy blurted out.

_'I KNEW IT!'_

"Okay, I suggest we run back into the forest, escaping his wrath, you in?"

You crossed your arms at Wendy’s suggestion. _'There's no way I'm missing an opportunity to see the Mystery Shack **and** Stan!'_

"I thought you **wanted** to see me get in trouble?" You questioned her. Sure, you're setting yourself up for failure, but it'll be worth it in the end. Her face perked up. "Oh yeah! Totally forgot, thanks for reminding me loser!" She stuck her tongue out and saluted her younger friend. You copied her actions, which received a hearty laugh from the red head.

"Race ya' back!" She exclaimed as she took off at full speed. "Hey! Wait a minute!" You laughed. You couldn't afford to get lost in these woods, you have to keep up! So you trailed after Wendy, dodging branches, logs, and bushes along the way. You followed her, passing by some trees and stepping into an opening which lead out of the forest, or so it seemed. Turns out, it was just another clearing, but right in the middle of this clearing stood...

"The Mystery Shack..." 

"Come on, (Y/n)!"


	4. Grunkle

You stood in awe as Wendy made her way to the **Mystery Shack. **She twirled around with a smile on her face, looking back at you, but her smile faded away when she saw that you haven't moved an inch. "Come on dude, what are you waiting for?" She asked as she made her way back to the frozen (Y/n). "I-It's the M-Mystery-I-Uh-Words...Not-Working for mouth..." You stuttered out. Wendy chuckled and walked behind you. "Let's go (Y/n), Stan **really **wants to talk to you about something." She started to push you towards the Mystery Shack. 

"M-Me?" 

"Yep, you."

"Why me? About what?!"

"How am I suppose to know?" Sooner than you expected, your conversation was cut short when the tips of your shoes hit wooden stairs. "Now move it or lose it (Y/n)." Wendy insisted. You didn't move at all, even if you wanted to. You were too afraid that if you even touched the stairs, they would disappear, and you'd suddenly wake up back in your boring reality. 

"(Y/n)! Move your molasses!" She laughed out with a forceful shove to your back, which sent you falling face first onto the porch. The sudden impact of your wonderful face hitting the wooden planks earned multiple rounds of laughter from none other than the red head herself. You didn't even bother trying to stand up, you just sighed into the probably termite-infested floorboards. 

Wendy's noisy, yet somehow soothing, laughter stopped abruptly._ 'What the?'_ You lifted your head, expecting to see the front door, but only received a full view of someone's dirty slippers. 

_'Slippers?....Slippers!'_

You lifted yourself up and stared down none other than **Grunkle Stan.** He wasn't wearing anything close to the state of his nasty-looking shoes, he was actually sporting his business tux and fez. Stan was also drinking from a can of soda. _'Is that Pitt?' _

"Kid...What the _hell_ are you doing?" He looked somewhat disappointed. _'WOAH! He swears in this universe? ..... AWESOME!'_ You stood up straight and dusted yourself off. Without realizing it, you started taking a few steps backwards, which resulted with you backing into Wendy. She shoved you forward and muttered, "Go ahead, talk to your Grunkle." She made air quotes with her fingers when she said "Grunkle."

"Thanks a lot." You whispered back, turning to Stan and taking a deep breath. "Well, ya' see, I was on my break and decided to go into the forest to get some...air?" You spoke, rather confused and unsure of your excuse. 

_'Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it.'_ You begged to yourself. He seemed to study your face expression, which held onto an unsure smile and beads of sweat trickling down your forehead. "Whatever you say, kid." He reached out to ruffle your hair. "Now come inside, I gotta talk to all of you about something." Stan spun on his heels and walked inside, you and Wendy silently following him into the Mystery Shack. 

"I hope he's gonna talk about you_ finally_ getting kicked out for good!" Wendy whispered, but by the way her voice sounded, you assumed she was joking. "Oh yeah? Well I hope you get _fired._" You joked back. "Wow, harsh." She giggled. 

You started to laugh, but stopped when you realized that you were standing inside the Mystery Shack! You frantically glanced around and examined all of the merchandise and the "mythical creatures" that were on display. _'I can't believe this...'_ Youthought. _'I'm IN the Mystery Shack!' _You trudged through the gift shop with Wendy following right beside you. 

"Oh...Wow..." That's all you could say as you stood there in awe. Then you felt someone nudge your shoulder lightly. "Come on man, you're acting like you've never seen this tourist trap before." Wendy whispered as she walked by. 

_'Well not in person, at least...'_ You mentally responded. Regardless, you nodded and proceeded to follow her... that is, until your eyes landed on another wonderful sight._ 'Dipper's hat! Holy crap!' _You approached the shelf that was stacked to the brim with hats that a certain brown-haired nerd would wear. You walked around to see if there were anymore hidden treasures. And sure enough, there was.

"Is that? No way... Mabel's grappling hook!" You squealed, which you rarely ever did. You squatted as you looked down at the device that laid on the floor. You reached out to touch it, but retracted your hand. 

"No, no, can't touch it, but...." You mumbled, reaching for it again.

"Kid! Where are you?! Get over here!" 

Uh oh, that was Stan. You got up and followed the sound of his voice, making your way over to the counter where the cash register was! This really was the Mystery Shack!... As if the huge, broken sign out front wasn't enough proof.

_'Wait a minute... if her grappling hook is still _ _here_ _, then **that** means... _ _she_ _ was never _ ** _here_ ** _ to begin with! So** that** means... the twins haven't even made their appearance in Gravity Falls yet! Did I arrive during the first episode? Or even before it?'_

You walked over to the counter, Wendy leaning behind it, holding a magazine, **Soos **stood to the side of it, and Stan stood a couple feet away. He stared at you, still holding his soda, and tapped his right foot impatiently, it seems he's had enough of your stalling already. You got in front of the counter and lifted yourself onto it, dangling your feet.

"Hey, hey, hey! Kid! How many times do I have to tell yo-Ugh, never mind."

You smiled innocently at him, he glared back with his own pair of brown eyes. "Anyways," He started again, "I've gathered all of you here so that I could briefly talk about how there's gonna be a couple of changes around here, due to the fact that my great niece and nephew are staying here for the summer."


	5. The Blue Path

And there it is.

Your eyes widened at the news. 

"Your great niece and nephew?" You tried to say it as confused as possible, but in actuality, you were bursting with excitement on the inside. Grunkle Stan sent a weird look your way. "Uhh... Yeah. You know, the ones I've told you about before." He responded. You bounced up and down on top of the counter. Wendy, who was sitting behind the counter, placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Calm down (Y/n), you're gonna hurt yourself." She chuckled. You glared at her momentarily, then returned your attention back to Stan. "So Stanl-I uh, I mean-Stanford! Yeah, that's right!" You almost slipped up there.

_'I gotta be more cautious to what I say, I almost called him by his **real** name_ _, and not his brother's!'_

Stan raised a brow as you continued to talk. "So, uh...when is your niece and nephew coming over?" 

"Tomorrow." He coughed out quickly. You, Wendy, and Soos all stared at him with wide eyes. "Tomorrow?!" the three of you shouted. "Yep, tomorrow. I just wanted to give the three of you a heads-up because they're going to help out around the Mystery Shack for the summer." Stan explained.

"Yeah, hooray for child labor. I mean it's already bad enough that you make (Y/n) work here!" Wendy said the first part sarcastically. "Hey! At least she gets paid!" Stan argued. You snorted and leaned over to Wendy. "Barely!" You whispered to her, causing her to laugh. Stan must've heard what you said because he started to glare at you.

"Cool! New employees to help out at the Mystery Shack!" Soos said enthusiastically. You would expect Soos to be the most cheerful out of all of you. "Just how **old** are these new employees?" Wendy questioned. 

_'Twelve! They're twelve!' _Youscreamed in your head. You had to bite down on your tongue just so you wouldn't scream out the answer. "They're twelve, like (Y/n) right here." Grunkle Stan answered while ruffling your hair. You laughed and pushed his large hand aside. Soos perked up at Stan's answer. "That's awesome dawg! Two friends for (Y/n) that are her age!" he proclaimed. Wendy decided to cut in.

"Um, Soos, she already has two friends that are the _greatest_ people in the world."

"Oh, she does? Who?"

"Us, duh!" Wendy said as she wrapped an arm around your shoulder. Soos laughed and joined in on the hug. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot!"

"Ugh, alright, alright, knock it off ya' hippies. I don't want no hug-fest in here." Stan stated, clearly somewhat disgusted by the display of affection. "Now get back to work, all of you." Stan started to walk away. Soos walked over to a broken rack, trying to fix it, and Wendy remained seated at the counter, picking up and reading a magazine. You hopped off the counter and picked up a broom that was leaning against it.

"I might as well make myself look busy." You mumbled and started to sweep the floor, making your way throughout the gift shop, taking in the view. It felt so weird to actually** be **in the Mystery Shack. "Wow...this is insane..."

"Hey kid, you alright?" You spun around to see Stan standing there with a concerned look on his face. You nodded.

"Y-Yeah, why are you asking?"

"Well for starters you** are **sweeping at nothing." He gestured to the floor around you. Your face flushed with embarrassment. "He-he...Oops?" Stan sighed. "Look kid, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine!" You defended.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Silence hung in the air, until Stan sighed in defeat. "Alright, but if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm always here, okay?" 

_'Stan's being sentimental? To me?! WHAT?!'_

"O-Okay." You stuttered. He ruffled your hair again. "It's getting dark out, you should start heading home." He said as he removed his hand. Him messing with your hair must be a thing the two of you have or something. "Okay Grunkle Stan, goodnight!" You placed the broom against the shelf and started to head towards the door. Stan waved, "Goodnight kid."

As you made your way out of the gift shop, Soos glanced up and said "Goodnight dudette."

"Night Soos." 

Wendy even looked up from her magazine and spotted you leaving, exclaiming, "Wait, she gets to leave early but I don't?"

"Get back to work, Corduroy!" A voice from the back, Stan's, called out. "Aw man... See ya (Y/n)." You laughed and waved goodbye to her, pushing the door open and walking down a dirt path. You only made it about ten feet away from the Mystery Shack when you realized something. "Wait, what home? Where do I go?!" You questioned out loud. Once the last words of the question escaped from your lips, a small, blue flame ignited from the ground in front of your feet. You jumped back in fear, thinking that the fire would burn your foot. Once you realized that the small flame wouldn't move or expand, you crouched down to get a good look at it. When your face got a little too close to the blue fire, more miniature flames appeared from the ground, reaching out into the distance and creating a path of its own. 

"...I think I should follow that path..."

And so you did. You walked alongside the path that the small fires were creating. Every time you passed one, it would disappear. The flames were guiding you through the forest, the day slowly turning into night.

_'Where are they taking me?'_

"That's a very good question kiddo, where **_are_** they taking you?" 

You stopped dead in your tracks and looked around to see where that voice came from...It sounded familiar in a way....

_'....Who said that?!'_

"I said that."

_'....No...Way...Could it be?...Maybe I should act dumb and pretend I don't know anything...'_

The mysterious voice sighed.

"I can_** read**_ your _**mind**_ kid, there's no use in acting stupid..."

'_Okay, now I know for **sure **who it is...'_

"Bill Cipher?" You called out. "BINGO! There ya' go!" His voice echoed, but he was nowhere in sight. "Where are you? I can't see you anywhere..." You lifted rocks and looked behind trees in order to spot the yellow, floating Dorito. He cleared his throat, I uh, I think, he has a throat _right? _Yeah, he does...maybe.

"Good, let's keep it that way, I'm only here to discuss _**certain business**_ with you and guide you home." You raised a brow as you continued down the glowing path. "Certain business? Are **you **making this path of fire? Where's it leading me Bill?" You questioned him. Hey, you can never be too careful around a demon.

"It's guiding you home, I thought I already said that."

"Oh yeah, you did, my bad." You apologized and climbed over a rock.

"Listen kid, I know you're not from this world." You froze. "I...Have no idea what you're talking about..."

"For crying out loud, you called **me **Bill Cipher!"

"It's only mere coincidence!" You kicked a pebble. "Coincidence, I think not!"

"You can't prove I'm not from here!" With frustration, you picked up and threw the pebble. "Okay, enough games! I know you're not from here (Y/n), you're energy is...different..." You slowed down your pace, walking a tad bit slower. "I'm listening..." You glanced up at the stars settling in the night sky.

"You see kid, I'm here to help you out!" You made a face, one that said "I'm not convinced."

"Yeah, okay, why are you **really** here?"

"No really! I'm here to help you out in the long run! You know, tell you what you should know and help you remember your false memories."

"False...memories? Care to explain to me what those **are** exactly?"

"As you can see, the people here seem to know more about your own life than you do, I'm going to assist you in retrieving those memories you made here through dreams and visions, so you can be all caught up." You nodded in understanding, well, somewhat understanding. "I see...so you're going to help me remember all of the memories I've apparently made here..."

"Yep, that's right!"

You could feel that he wasn't telling you the whole story... "Okay, what do you want?" You pushed a low hanging branch out of the way. "What so ever do you mean child?" 

"Nice sarcasm, and you know** exactly **what I mean. You're helping me for a reason, Bill." No more games, you cut straight to the point. He remained silent for a few seconds as if he was thinking over what he should say. "Geez, you're not as dumb as you look. Listen, I'm only helping you because you hold the answers that I need.. "

You scoffed and bowed politely. "Why thank you Bill, I'm flattered really!"

"I'm serious! You have the answers that I need in order to achieve my goals! But something prevents me from seeing a certain part of your mind..." You stopped walking and looked at nothing in particular, "Well guess what mister, I know your **true intentions**, so you're not getting anything outta me!" You argued, pointing an accusing finger. He chuckled at what you said. "I'm Bill Cipher, I always have my ways... By the way, go through those bushes over there, continue to follow the flickering flames until you reach a house, that's where you live..." He gave instructions for you to follow. 

So that's what you did. Hey, it's not like **you** knew where to go. You walked up to the bushes he pointed out and pushed them aside. On the other side of the bushes was a neighborhood filled with decent looking houses.

"Oh, well, thanks Bill."

"Don't mention it, really, don't."

You walked out of the bushes and slid down the hill, landing on the sidewalk. The blue flames led you to a nice two story house, sure the house wasn't in perfect condition, but it was still homey. As you walked up to the front door, the last blue flame that sat on a welcome mat flickered out. 

"By the way, I'd be **careful **with what you say **(Y/n)**...I mean,** you will **be careful right? You wouldn't want the wrong thing to...well...**slip**..." Bill whispered, and kinda creepily, you might add. His evil laughter echoed into silence in your mind. You shook your head and reached for the doorknob, opening the door.


	6. An Episode to Remember Pt.1

When you stepped inside the house, a warm, comforting breeze hit your face. The light in the kitchen was on, and you heard pots clattering and footsteps roaming.

_’Someone else is here... maybe I can get their attention if I-‘_

**SLAM**

**CLATTER**

You slammed the front door close, hearing a pot crash to the floor right afterwards. The person in the kitchen stuck their head out to discover the source that caused the noise. ”Oh! (Y/n), sweetie, don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Your eyes widened.

_’Is... Is this lady suppose to be my?..’_

”Mom?”

She chuckled and took slow steps towards you. “I thought Stanford was planning on keeping you a few hours after curfew again, I was about to run up there and give em' a piece of my mind!”

She patted the top of your head and looked down into your eyes. “What took you so long to get home?” She questioned. 

Uh oh.

”I uh.... got lost?” You answered with uncertainty in your voice. Your **_mother_** sighed, “Yes, you can easily get lost in that dangerous trap called a forest, **especially** at night."

”Y-Yep!” You stuttered loudly, she eyeballed you for that. She started to make her way back into the kitchen, and you trailed along beside her. She stopped and looked at you again.

”Are you hungry? I made spaghetti for dinner, but you’ll have to warm it up first since-“

”Uhh- No thanks! I’m umm, not hungry... Mom” This feels weird, you're calling a complete stranger your mother! She sent a warm smile your way and continued to wash the dishes. You stepped to the side to get a good view of her.

She had (h/c) hair that reached her shoulders, (e/c) eyes and (s/c) skin. She wore a brown shirt and a white skirt, she even had an apron on. 

This is insane, she can pass off as your _actual_ mom because she looks just like you. She sees you as her daughter that she raised since birth, but you see her as a woman who you've only just met. It all seems so...so...

”Surreal...” you mumbled aloud.

”What was that sweetheart?”

”O-Oh! Nothing! I’mma just, go to bed! Goodnight Mom!” You scampered towards the stairs to avoid any possible future suspicion. As you reached the top of the stairs, you heard a door open and close. 

_‘Hold up, Mom is downstairs doing the dishes, so who’s up here? Dad? Brother? Sister?.....Triangle with one eye?’_

”Where the hell were you? With your boyfriend or something?” A male voice teased. When you walked down the hall for a bit longer, you spotted a teenage boy leaning against a doorway. He had light brown skin, dark brown, curly hair, and brown eyes. 

_‘What is he doing here? Is he my brother?’_

Your face reddened when you realized what he said to you. You sighed, “No, I don’t have a boyfriend, I was at the Mystery Shack!”

_'Never thought I’d **ever** say those words in my life.' _

The unnamed teenager rolled his eyes. “Yep, definitely with your boyfriend. Is he ugly? Is that why you don’t talk about him? He’s ugly isn’t he?” he pestered. “Nope, he doesn’t exist, and if he did, he wouldn’t be ugly, unlike you.”

_'Woah! Where’d **that **come from? I barely know this guy and I’m already insulting him.'_

The curly haired boy started to talk again, “You only say I’m ugly because you’re my ignorant sibling who doesn’t know any better, all that matters is that all of the single ladies think otherwise.”

”Are you sure about that?”

”...Isn’t it past your bedtime?!” 

He moved from the doorway and stomped away to his room. You stared into the room that he was blocking the entrance to. The walls were painted (f/c) and pieces of paper and clothes were scattered all over the place.

_’This place is a mess!.... Must be my room.’_

”Took you waaaaayyy too long to find your room. You need to be faster than that kid.”

”Why are you still in my mind?!”

”Who in the hell are you talking to?!” a voice shouted from the halls. “Shut up!” You screamed back. “**You** shut up!”

”No, **you**!”

”You’re the one who’s talking to yourself out loud!” 

“Well- you’re** still** ugly!” 

“But** you**-“

”**Both of you go to bed!**” Your mom shouted. You huffed and kicked your shoes off. “Hmmm which dresser holds my pajamas? Bill do you know?”

”Oh I know.”

”...That didn’t sound creepy at all... Okay, which drawer is it?”

”Third one.” Opening the third drawer revealed the pajamas, which were...

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. A onesie?!”

”Not just any onesie, a python onesie!” He added with excitement. You observed the onesie as you held it up with both hands, then you noticed something. ”What the heck?! One of the button eyes is gone!”

”Yeah! I know! I thought it would give it a more...appealing effect, don’tcha think?”

”...You’re creepy.”

”And you’re still talking to yourself. Now go to bed, I got a little surprise for you...”

”Still creepy...” You changed into the python onesie and lied down on your bed. A few seconds later, you closed your eyes and fell asleep.

......

It didn’t last long.

A chilling breeze hit your entire body, and when you opened your eyes, you were suddenly standing up in the middle of an empty meadow. The sky was dark and submerged with clouds, and there was no sign of life for miles. "Everything looks so...gray. Where am I?” You asked aloud. Unexpectedly, a small, yellow, glowing orb flew in front of your face, along with three, smaller, black dots, causing your (e/c) eyes to widen. The yellow orb transformed into a triangle, and the three dots turned into a cane, top hat, and bow tie. Arms and legs popped out of the triangle, lines formed and connected on the lower half of the shape, and a huge eye appeared on its face.

”Hey kiddo, how’s it hanging?”

”....B-Bill Cipher?!” You stuttered in awe, still believing all of this was some crazy, whacked up dream. He floated around your head in a circle. “Listen here, cause I’m only gonna say this once, and then I’m outta here.”

Your face twisted into a scowl. “If you wanna make a deal with me, my answer is no freaking way.” You blurted out. He rolled his eyes-I uh, I mean, **eye**, at you.

”Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, Snake-“

”S-Snake?! Where?!?” Your body shot up into the air as you swerved around. “Where’s the snake?!”

”Re-LAX, geez, I just decided to call you that because of... you know.” He gestured to the python onesie you were still wearing. “....Oh. Where are we?” Your eyes followed him as he floated about. ”That’s not important, what is important though, is this-“ he snapped his fingers, and without either of you moving, the entire scenery changed. It seemed and felt like everything was running passed you. When it all stopped, you both ended up in a hallway filled with doors. 

...Wait a minute...

“This is just like the episode where they entered Stan’s mind! _*Gasp*_ Are we in my mind? Please tell me we’re in my mind right now!” You excitedly shouted and jumped in place. “Like I said before, re-LAX. Anyways, as you can see, or possibly know, these doors hold memories-“ he opened one and a memory of you talking to (B/f/n) at school played out. A frown made its way to your face, saddened at the thought of ever getting to talk to (B/f/n) again. Then a question came to mind, “Wait, will I **ever** be able to get back home?!”

”Stop talking.” He held a hand towards your face, trying to shush you, then he continued, “Then there are doors with memories that were made here in this quiet, little town you call home.” If he had a face, you bet he’d be smirking. He moved out of the way to reveal another door with a different memory. You stood in front of it, hand resting on the doorway. 

It was a younger version of Stan trying to spoon feed a baby. The baby had (s/c) skin and (e/c) eyes. You pointed at the two, “That baby is me, isn’t it?” Your eyes couldn’t look away from the scene, it was too cute. I mean, come on, it's not everyday you get to see Stan feeding a baby! Or at least, be nice to one. 

“Gee, did you figure **that** one out on your own?” Bill sassed sarcastically. You glared at him, yep, he’s definitely smirking. You closed the door and started to walk down the hallway some more, the evil triangle was trailing close behind.

”...How? I wasn’t even here for a day? Let alone, for** that **long!” You pointed at the door you previously just looked through. “And how come everyone that I’ve met so far, know all of these things but I don’t? It’s kinda creepy...” You rubbed your arms. 

“Your memories of this world will soon come to you. If you turn around and give that door a nice push-“ he paused, waiting for you to take action. You turned around and twisted the doorknob, it wouldn’t budge.

”It’s locked.”

”Exactly.”

You stared at the floorboards, ”...I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that the memories I’ve made here in Gravity Falls are behind these locked doors?” He nodded. You made a ‘tsk’ noise with your mouth, “Figures...”

"Hey now, don’t beat yourself up over it, besides, you’ll gain all those sweet, little memories every time you have a dream.” He explained. “Hmmm, well I guess that makes sense...somewhat.” It’s hard trying to sound like a sane person in this place... ”Well,” he leaned against his cane in midair, “I guess I’ll be on my wa-“

“Uh, hold up, what’s that door?” Cutting him off seemed to annoy him, but you had to know what was up with this wacky looking door. You stepped closer to have a better look. The door was slightly wider than the average door, was boarded up, and had multiple locks on it.

”Boarded up, chained, and locked? Isn’t that a little excessive?” You turned to Bill with a small smile on your face. “It’s absolutely necessary, especially due to the contents behind that door...” he dragged out mysteriously, his voice also echoed. A small breeze fluttered around the hallway. A chill ran up your spine.

“What’s in there?” You took a few steps back, from the door and from Bill. He kept staring at the door, refusing to look at you.

”...I don’t know... you tell me.” He snapped his fingers again, and you were forcefully shoved to the ground by a huge gust of wind. Your heart started to beat faster. The entire hallway was being ripped to pieces by the rushing wind. 

“N-No! No! No! No! No!” You jumped and leaped from the pieces of the hall that remained afloat. You quickly scanned the area for Bill, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the floor underneath you gave way, your scream got caught in your throat as you fell down a dark abyss....

Then you woke up. 

“HOLY CRAP!”

You put your left hand over your heart, it was still beating fast. You looked around the room, your room, to be exact. 

“W-Wha?” 

Was that all a dream?... No.. it felt real...

”Too real...” You mumbled to yourself.


	7. An Episode to Remember Pt.2

You swept across the floor of the Mystery Shack. _‘It’s actually really dusty in here.’ _You thought. You made your way between the shelves, sweeping up the dust, until a certain thought came across your mind. An exciting thought. _‘Today’s the day! Today is the day the twins-‘_ You jumped at the large, calloused hand that roughed up your (h/c) hair.

“Hey kiddo! Ya' ready to meet my niece and nephew? Although it**-probably **won't be all that exciting, I mean, who cares right?” He chuckled. You lifted Stan’s hand away and grasped the broom with both of yours. “Do they even- know, who I am?” You questioned with a smirk.

“Well, they should know, I mean, their father knows **of** you. He wouldn’t shut up when he found out that I was parent material...well somewhat parent material,” He balanced a hand in midair to emphasize the word "somewhat." Stan walked to the front door of the Mystery Shack, his shoes making constant tapping noises against the wooden floor.

“Parent material?” You raised a brow, “I guess... because waiting until a child is old enough to start working is more like child labor than good parenting.” Stan was halfway out the door when you said that. He leaned back and glared at you with hard brown eyes. “Shut up.” And with that he left. You chuckled and went back to sweeping.... for about three seconds. The broom hit the floor and you jumped up with excitement! Once, twice, alright, alright, you jumped nonstop while saying “Yes!” repeatedly.

“Someone’s excited.” Oops, forgot the redhead was still present. You skipped towards Wendy, “How could I not be? This is so exciting! You don’t even **understand** how excited I am!” She looked up from the magazine she was reading, “You’re right, I don’t understand.” You lifted yourself onto the counter. “Trust me when I say this, those twins are gonna make this summer unforgettable!” Wendy stared at you confusingly. “Uh...What makes you say that?” You leaned towards her, “Oh, I know, _I know_.” The teenager leaned away from you with wary eyes. “Okay, you’re creepy.” The sound of the door opening stopped you from spewing a witty comeback. “Alright, so here’s the inside of the Mystery Shack.”

“Oooh, shiny...” Stan smacked **Mabel’s** hand away. “Ow!”

“Don’t touch the merchandise! Anyways, those two over there-“ Oh! He’s about to point us out! I gotta look cool or-or something! Strike a pose! But don’t make it noticeable...

“-are trouble. Otherwise known as your fellow employees.”

“Check it out dude, we’re trouble.” Wendy whispered. “Wait, fellow employees? You don’t mean we’re gonna work here do you?” **Dipper** complained, clearly tense from the situation he was in. But of course, Stan ignored him. “Follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Well... this has been interesting. You haven’t properly introduced yourself yet, and you didn’t know how. And here you were, standing from a distance, watching them while standing next to Grunkle Stan. The twins themselves seemed to be occupied anyways. Mabel was rolling down a grass hill while laughing, and Dipper wrote in a book with a scowl on his face. You could tell which twin really didn’t want to be here. “Yay! Grass!” Mabel shouted as she rolled. A woodpecker landed on Dipper’s hat and started to peck away.

“Hehe, watch this.”

“Gah!”

Stan nudged you with his elbow, and when you turned to look up at him you were startled from the monster mask he was wearing. He crept up behind Dipper and shouted-

“BOO!”

“AAH!” Dipper fell back from fright, and you began to step up to the scene that was unfolding. Stan laughed as Dipper remained on the grass, staring up at his Grunkle with an unamused face. “Ahahaha!” Stan slapped his knee and watched you walk up next to him. He held up his hand and you high-fived him as he continued to laughed. Then he started to cough and hit his chest several times. “-It was worth it.”

You chuckled a few times and looked down at Dipper, only to find out he was glaring not just at Stan, but at you too.

**Great**. This is off to a** great** start....


	8. ...Nevermind

_'And... I was wrong.'_

You pulled at the strap of the overalls you were currently sporting. As of now, you were heading to the Mystery Shack to start your shift.

Living here in this universe, or wherever you were, has proven to be a total bust! _'How was I suppose to know, or remember, that a few days passed by before any **real** action went down? That wasn't said in the show!.... Or was it? Gah! I can't remember!'_ You tugged on the sleeve of your shirt, fixing your appearance. 

And trying to become friends with the twins has been an obstacle all of its own. Neither of them are interested and you don't really have time to socialize with them. It's been Wendy, Soos, and you constantly talking and holding secret conversations with each other. And you're pretty sure the twins don't even know all of your names! The other day, Dipper called Wendy "Wanda"! Of course you laughed at her expense, but still!_ 'I wonder what he thinks my name is....'_

Speaking of Dipper, your interactions have been proven, well, nonexistent. It's as if he's purposely avoiding you... which he is. You remembered walking in on one of his conversations with Mabel.

_"How come you haven’t talked to our cousin yet, Dipper?” Mabel asked her twin as she rolled around on the floorboards, You didn’t have to see it, you heard them creaking. Dipper sighed loudly._

_”First of all, Mabel, she’s not-“_

_”OOF-!”_

_You're gonna take a wild guess and say that Mabel hurt herself again. _

_“Three words Mabel, Stan-Raised-Her.”_

_”Pfft- And?”_

_”Well, think about it! You can clearly see the way our Grunkle acts, now, take that personality and apply it to a preteen girl. That's a formula for trouble.”_

_”Trouble, Smouble, I think she’s nice!”_

_”Aaaand have **you** even talked to her yet?”_

_“Well....”_

And that’s how that conversation went. He’s avoiding you because he believes that you're the spawn of Satan, or should you say spawn of Stan. Mabel, on the other hand, is different, even though she’s only said a few drawn out sentences, and most of them were just ridiculous questions. 

She asked you what your favorite color was-

_"Hey! What's your favorite color?"_

_"Uhhhh, (f/c)?"_

_"Oh! Okay!" and with that she was gone. _

You wondered what she did with that piece of information...

_"...Mabel what are you doing?" Dipper looked up from a book he was reading on his bed._

_"I'm making our cousin a sweater! A (f/c) one to be exact!"_

_"Mabel! She's not-"_

_"Oh! What type of design should I put on it?"_

_"Uugghh...."_

She also asked what your name was.

_"Heyo! What's your name again? Sorry, I just, I-I forgot!" _

_"It's (Y/n)."_

_"(Y/n)? (Y/n), (Y/n), (Y/n)_ _! I like your name, cousin!"_

_"Hey, thanks- wait a minute, cous-?!"_ _She grabbed both sides of your face and gazed into your eyes._

_"Give me your name." She whispered. _

_"Mabel! Leave (Y/n) alone and get back to work!"_

Aaand she made you...well she made you, uh....

_"Hey cousin!" She jumped up and squished her body next to yours on the couch that was only made for ONE. She held out a folded piece of paper._

_"Can you look this over for me? Dipper said no, so I thought I'd ask you instead!" _

_You took the piece of paper, unfolded it, and read it aloud._

_"Do you like me? Yes, Definitely, Absolutely?" _

_"Ha! I rigged it!"_

Yep. Those two have proven to be very interesting. Honestly, you expected something else, like "We meet each other and hit it off really well, eventually becoming best friends and going on adventures and stuff," but one of them hates you and the other is just...just...busy with boys. 

And with that, your walk to the Mystery Shack was complete, and you stepped inside with no hesitation.

_'I won't need that flaming trail anymore, Bill! I can remember the way all on my own!'_


	9. Signs!

“He’s looking at it! He’s looking at it!”

You watched as yet **another** boy was caught in Mabel’s web of craziness. He was reading the paper that you “proof-read” for Mabel a while back, she’s been using it ever since you gave her the two thumbs up. You laughed to yourself at that fond memory.

“Still can’t believe you encouraged her to use that note...” _Oh geez..._

“Well, in the end it was her decision to use it, not mine.” You turned around, broom in hand, and squinted your eyes at Dipper. Dipper was around your height, with messy, brown hair, and darker brown eyes. He always looked tired and whenever he stared your way, he would wear a frown on his face.

“Yeah, well getting support from her_ “cousin”_-“ he made air quotes with his fingers, “Isn’t gonna make her think twice about her decisions, it’ll only encourage her...”

_...Dipper was also very sarcastic..._

He went back to cleaning with the spray bottle and towel. “Whatever you say, _cousin_.” You teased. He visibly flinched at the word. 

“Uh, do you like me? Yes, Definitely, Absolutely?” The poor boy Mabel had her eyes on looked around, confusion written all over his face. 

“I rigged it.” Mabel whispered as she hid behind a shelf.

“Mabel, I know you’re going through your whole “boy-crazy” phase, but I think you’re kinda over doing it with the “crazy” part.” Dipper said as he cleaned a jar full of eyeballs. Eww, okay, where does Grunkle Stan even get this stuff? Mabel turned to her twin.

“What?” She blew a raspberry. “Come on, Dipper.” She stepped toward him, you secretly watched, but swept at nothing just so you could look busy. “This is our first summer away from home! It’s my big chance to have an epic summer romance!”

“Yeah, but do you need to flirt with _every_ guy you meet?” Dipper retorted.

“Oh come on! (Y/n)- tell me you’re on my side with this one!” They both looked at you with different expressions, one looked hopeful, but the other one said, _“You_ _better_ _not...”_

“Mabel,“ you rubbed the back of your head, “As much as I hate your brother-“ Mabel snorted at that, Dipper just...frowned, so nothing new, “-he kinda has a point.”

“Aw, what?”

“Ha.”

Mabel turned to address the both of you, not just her brother. “Mock all you want, you two, but I got a good feeling about this summer.”

“-I don’t.” Dipper muttered and glanced at you. You stuck your tongue out. 

“-I wouldn’t be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now!”

As if on cue, which it was, Stan walked through the doorway, burping loudly, but it got caught in his throat. 

“Oh! Oh, not good. Ow.”

“Aww! Why!”

“Ha Ha Ha!”

“Pfft-!”

Stan spoke up to get everyone’s attention. “All right, all right, look alive people. I need someone to go hammer up these signs in the spooky part of the forest.” He held up the signs that needed hanging.

“Not it!” Both of the twins shouted. 

“I don’t think so.” You muttered as you made your way to the counter, where Corduroy sat. 

“Uh, also not it.” Soos spoke up from drilling a shelf into the wall. “Nobody asked you, Soos.”

“I know, and I’m comfortable with that.” Soos took a bite out of a chocolate bar. “Wendy! I need you to put up this sign!” Stan ordered.

You leaned the broom against the counter and propped yourself up on it.

“I would, but I, ugh, can’t, ugh, reach it, ugh...” She pretended to reach out for the signs, you chuckled at her antics. Stan slapped his face.

“(Y/n)! Put up these signs!” He called out. “You pay me to sweep, not to put up signs.” You sassed as you swung your legs. You jumped down from the counter and grabbed the broom, then walked off.

“I’d fire all of you if I could. All right, let’s make it.... eenie, meenie, miney...you.” Stan pointed at Dipper. “Aw, what? Grunkle Stan, whenever I’m in those woods, I-“ You started to tune out their conversation and began to sweep up the dust and dirt on the floor. “This place is really dirty...”

“So quit being so paranoid!” You overheard Grunkle Stan say, Dipper sighed as the signs were tossed to him. “Oh! Oh! Maybe someone should go with him!” Mabel spoke up.

“That’s nice of you to volunteer Mabel but-“ 

“Oh, not me Grunkle Stan, have Dipper take (Y/n) with him!” Okay,_ that_ you heard.

“Uh, no!” 

“No way!”

You and Dipper were both quick to disagree. “Hmm, well, it would seem that the two of you both sound extremely disappointed.... Oh well! (Y/n), go with Dipper, and besides, it’ll make up for you trying to skip out on work during your breaks or constantly sweeping at nothing on the floor just to make yourself look busy.”

Your jaw slacked open and your face flushed. “But Grunkle Stan-“

“Go!”

You growled and walked towards the door. “Thanks a lot Mabel...”

“You’re welcome!”

You both walked together into the forest, there was a cold breeze and fog everywhere. You stood at least four to five feet apart. “Okay, so where do we hang up these signs?” You asked.

“Why are you asking me?” He sassed.

“Because you’re the one holding the signs- **Genius**!” 

You both just stood there, having some sort of staring competition. Well, whatever it was, you won because he looked away first. “Let’s just get this over with...” He dragged out. “W-Wait a minute.” Dipper stuttered and gazed at the supplies. “He only gave us one hammer!”

“Maybe it’s because he wants us to work together?” You made a rotation movement with your hands when you said “together.”

“Hmmm.” He tapped his chin with one finger. Dipper picked up a rock that was as big as his hand and gave it to you. He also passed on a few signs and nails.

“Here. Take this rock, and these nails, and go waaaaayyy over there where we won’t have to see each other, okay?” He ended that off with a fake smile and started to walk away. 

Uuuh, a rock?!

“Hey- Wait!” You dropped everything to the ground, except for the rock, and caught up to him, stepping in his way. “Did you just give me a rock? Uh-uh, if anything, I deserve the hammer!” You shoved the rock back to him and grabbed the hammer, but Dipper gripped it harder. 

“Um, no! I had it first and that’s that!” He tugged it towards him. You yanked it back, causing him to stumble.

“I don’t care. I want the hammer.” You growled. You tugged the tool even closer, a spiteful smile growing on your face as you said with no hint of kindness, “Please.” Silence rang through the air... for only four seconds. Soon enough, both of you were playing a weird version of tug-o-war with the hammer.

“Give it here!” 

“Back off!” 

“I deserve the hammer!”

What even was this?! This is absurd! Fighting over a hammer? Seriously? 

An idea popped into your mind. “Oh look! What is that?!” 

_‘If he falls for this, he’s really gullible.’_

“Wha-?” Dipper turned his head back to see the cause of your outburst.

_‘....He fell for it.’_

You snatched it out of his hand with one quick tug. His brown eyes glared at you and his face scrunched up. 

“H-Hey! Give it-?!” While he yelled at you, you pushed the tip of his hat downwards, causing it to block his vision. You took off while you had the advantage, grabbing all the nails and signs you dropped. 

“See ya Dip-Stick! Ha!” 

“COME BACK WITH MY-....hammer.”

You slowed down to catch your breath, you weren’t that far from him, you could still see his stupid hat, but it looked like he gave up this little fight. 

So with that, you began to hammer the nails into various trees, hanging up the signs as you go. 

“Ugh, how am I ever gonna get him to actually feel comfortable around me? Or at least, be nice to me?” 

“HELLO!”

“GAAAH!” You ended up dropping everything as you jumped in shocked, luckily, the hammer didn’t hit your toes. 

You turned around to be greeted by brown eyes and bouncy, curly hair. Mabel seemed to glow even when the entire world was gray. 

“Mabel! What are you doing here?”

She stepped closer to you.

“I heard shouting, so I came to check on you guys! ...Where is my brother anyways?” 

“He, uh, we went our separate ways...”

“Welp! Let’s go find that weirdo before he hurts himself!” She grasped your hand and dragged you away from the supplies.

“Mabel-!”

“Come on, cousin!”

You and Mabel found Dipper crouched down to the forest floor, reading what appears to be a book. 

_‘OH! How can I forget that **this** is the episode where Dipper finds the journal! I’m such an idiot!’_ You thought, _‘I guess that little argument with Dipper got me a bit sidetracked.’_

“What do you think he’s reading?” You asked just to, well, ask. You already knew the answer.

“Probably some nerd book. Hey, watch this,“ Mabel elbowed you to get your attention, but you were already watching. She leaped up onto a fallen tree and leaned forward. You copied her actions. 

“HELLO!” 

“WAAAH!” Dipper panted heavily. You laughed aloud shortly afterwards.

“Whatcha reading? Some nerd thing?” Mabel questioned.

“Uh-“ Dipper turned and looked at both of you. 

“Yeah Dipper, whatcha reading?” You pestered. He glared at you for that. 

“Uh-It’s nothing!” He answered. His twin mimicked his noises of distress.

“Uh-uh, it’s nothing!” She giggled, “Are you actually not gonna show me?” She placed her hands on her hips and you cocked your head to the side. 

“Uh-“ Dipper’s eyes switched from looking at his sister, to you, then back to his sister.

“Let’s go somewhere private... but not you.” He pointed at your face. 

“Aww, what?” You complained. “Do you not like me that much?”

“Yes.” He answered with zero hesitation.

“Oh, come on Dipper, she’s our cous-“

“Don’t- say it.” He cut her off and walked away. Mabel looked at you, and you stared back. “I guess he doesn’t want me to know.” 

_‘But jokes on him, I already know what he’s hiding.’_


	10. Norman

“So how did sign hanging with my nephew go?” Stan asked as you walked along side him.

“**Horrible**. We yelled and fought for the _stupid_ hammer.”

“Ha-ha! Typical.” He took a huge swig out of the can of soda he held. 

You looked up at Stan. “Don’t you ever send me on another _“mission”_ with him again.” You said.

“Kid, I make no promises.” He pointed a finger your way. The doorbell rang a few times in the background, but you both chose to ignore it. “Coming!” Mabel ran past as the both of you stood by a doorway that lead to the living room, and in the living room was Dipper, sitting on the couch reading the journal.

“Whatcha reading there, slick?” Stan asked Dipper.

“Oh!” He fumbled around on the couch and said, “I was just catching up on, uh... Gold Chains For Old Men Magazine?” You chuckled under your breath as you and Stanley approached him.

“That’s a good issue.” Stan leaned against one side of the couch and you leaned against the other.

“Yep! A _real_ good issue, isn’t that right, Dipper?” You smiled with a hint of sarcasm in your voice. Dipper quickly caught on and eyed you back.

“Hey family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!” Mabel announced to us. “Sup?”

“Hey...”

“Hi.”

“How’s it hanging?”

Mabel continued on about her new “boyfriend”.

“We met at the cemetery. He’s really deep.” She felt his arm. “Oh. Little muscle there. That’s... what a surprise...”

This is completely insane to watch. An entire episode, and not just any episode, the **first episode** of Gravity Falls was playing out right in front of your eyes! You definitely weren’t gonna miss this!

“So, what’s your name?” Dipper asked. Her boyfriend started to fidget. “Uh...Normal....MAN!” He shouted, for- some reason. “He means Norman.” Mabel defended. “Are you bleeding, Norman?” Dipper shot another question. “Norman’s” eyes darted to the side. “...It’s jam.”

Dipper’s eyes shifted to your direction as you mumbled out, “Sure it is.” Dipper’s face just held the definition of “suspicion.”

Mabel gasped loudly. “I love jam! Look. At. This!” She gestured to Norman and herself. “So, you wanna go hold hands or... whatever?” Norman asked. “Oh, oh, my goodness.” She giggled, “Don’t wait up!” She took off to who knows where, and Norman followed shortly after, running into the wall a couple of times.

You sighed happily, crossing your arms on the couch and plopping your head down to rest. Suddenly, a warmth spread across your arm. When your eyes darted up, you and Dipper made eye contact for two seconds until-

“Gah! Get your hand off my arm!” You shouted. 

“I didn’t mean to! _Maybe_ you shouldn’t stand so close to me!” Dipper shouted back.

“Alright, alright, **enough**.” Stan moved Dipper off the seat by pushing his head away. He took Dipper’s spot on the couch. 

_Uh oh._

The **journal** is still underneath the cushion, and Grunkle Stan is sitting on it!

“Aaaah, sweet, sweet relaxation...” His eyes traveled to the two preteens standing on either side of the couch. One wore a straight face while the other seemed very nervous, take a wild guess of which one’s which.

“Listen kids, you both might as well get use to each other’s company- “ at the sound of that, both you and Dipper glared at each other momentarily, “-cause guess what? You two will be stuck with each other all-summer-long. So stop fighting and go- go do some kid stuff or something.” And with that, Grunkle Stan grabbed the magazine Dipper previously held and started to browse through the pages. 

Your eyes landed on Dipper's obvious, nervous fidgeting. The journal was literally underneath Grunkle Stan's butt. As you watched the hat-wearing twin pace around-Oh hey! Dipper isn't wearing his pine tree hat yet- Anyways, as you watched Dipper pace back and forth, a plan started to form in your head.

_'Hmmm... I wonder if he'll show me the journal if I help him get it back...' _ You spoke up to get Stan's attention. “Alright Grunkle Stan, we’re off to go do some kid stuff upstairs.” Dipper tensed up with a disgusted look on his face. 

“Eww.” He shuddered. The thought of doing_ anything _with you disturbed him. You walked over and stood by his side, placing your hand on his shoulder. “Come along,_ cousin_.” Dipper shrugged you off. 

“We’re not cousins.”

“Obviously, I just like calling you that because for some_ weird_ reason, seeing you angry makes me happy.”

“...You’re a psycho.” 

Stan glared at the two of you and shouted, “Hey! I thought you two were going upstairs? Go! Shoo flies.” 

Nudging Dipper a little bit, you whispered to him. “Come on.”

“What? I’m not-“

“Just-trust me, okay?”

“Trust you?” He raised one of his brown eyebrows at you. All you did was stare back at him for a few moments.

“.......”

....Until-

“Hey, Grunkle Stan! Isn’t that the sound of your cash register being opened?”

“Cash register? MY MONEY!” Stan threw the magazine aside and darted off the couch, eyes widened with horror. When the old man left the room, you skipped over to the couch and shoved your hand into the cushion, pulling out the journal.

"Here ya' go." You handed it over to Dipper, which he then proceeded to snatch it out of your hand. "Yeah, I'm not gonna thank you, by the way." He shoved it into his vest and started to head upstairs. You were about to follow him until you heard someone call out your name.

"Hey sleazeball!" Before you could turn around and look up to whoever called you out, a large, pale hand landed on top of your head, shaking you up a little.

"Next time you make up some lame excuse to get me off my behind, it's bathroom duty for you!" Stan's brown eyes glared down at you, but a hint of playfulness danced inside them. You shuttered at the thought of being on _bathroom duty._

"Uuugh-! Bathroom duty? I don't think so. I'm not unclogging those portable toilets."

"Hey, you do as I say so, unless you wanna be fired, got it?" During his mini lecture, he turned around and started to head back to the couch. You quietly mimicked what he said with a goofy look on your face.

"Now-" he turned around again and you stopped with your childish antics, they were bound to land you in trouble with the boss someday.

"-I want you to restock some of the shelves in the gift shop," He chuckled, "It would seem that the customers can't get enough of me! Literally. They can't stop buying my Bobble-Head Stans."

"You mean those creepy looking figurines that deserve to be at the bottom of a trash can?" You said with no emotion. The Mystery Man pointed at you and sent a hard stare your way, "Hey-Watch it." 

You sighed heavily,_ 'Finally.'_

You placed the last Bobble-Head Stan on the shelf and stared at it for awhile. You decided to flick his head, letting it wobble and bounce from side to side as you pondered.

_'....I...I actually work here, at **the **Mystery Shack! I can't belie-' _

"Hey loser!"

"What the-?!" You lurched forward from the feeling of something hitting the back of your head. When you turned around and looked down, you realized that a crumpled-up piece of paper was thrown at you.

"Hey (Y/n)! Wanna do something cool?" The freckled-faced redhead asked excitedly. You walked over to the counter and jumped on top of it, taking your usually seat.

"You know, there are other ways to get my attention, Wendy." You smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Yeah, I know, but I like to mess with ya." Wendy decided to push you off the counter with one, hard shove.

"GAH!" You fell off the counter and onto the wooden floor. Wendy laughed and started to walk over to a curtain that was hanging in the back corner. You pushed yourself off the floor.

"Wait, is that?"

Wendy spun around and smiled widely at you. "Yeah it is! Roof time! Roof time! Roof time!" She pumped the air with her fist as she pulled back the curtain, revealing a ladder.

"Oh-Ho-Ho! No freaking way!" You laughed as you approached her quickly. Wendy grabbed onto the ladder with one hand and held up the other, waiting for your response.

"Well, whaddaya say?"

_'I feel like exploding right now!'_ You screamed within your mind. With great enthusiasm, you high-fived her hand, _really hard I might add_, and pumped your own (s/c) fist into the air several times.

"Roof time! Roof time! Roof time!" You both chanted together. You climbed up the ladder together, Wendy going first while you kept up from behind. She opened the latch and lifted herself onto the roof. Now it was your turn. You stuck your head out and looked outside.

"Wow... the breeze up here feels amazing!"

Wendy rolled her eyes and sighed with fake-annoyance. "You literally say that every time we're up here." You blush from embarrassment. "Ha, ha, really? Sorry." She shrugged with one shoulder as she shook her head, "Don't be sorry, man." She stepped away and climbed up the roof, going even higher. "H-hey! Wait!" You lifted yourself onto the roof with all the upper body strength you had. As you climbed, you stopped to admire the scenery for a few seconds, the view of the forest and the broken Mystery Shack sign. When you finally made it to the top, you stood up slowly and looked out at the forest.

"...I-I have no words." You chuckled.

"Hey! Dumb-dumb! Down here!" You looked down and saw Wendy on a platform. She was sitting on a beach chair, tossing a pine cone up and down with her right hand. You slid down to her secret roof area and sat on top of the cooler. You both sat in silence for a few minutes, staring out into the forest.

“Sooooo... how are things going with the twins?” Your eyes widened as you stared at the relaxed redhead.

"Oh-! Uh," You coughed into your hand and pulled at your overalls, "It's alright, I guess..."

"You guess?"

You got up slowly and picked up a pine cone from the bucket. Wendy watched you as you stared down at the pine cone in your hand. "Yeah, I _guess_. I mean-Mabel seems to like me." You chuckled for a bit. "She even calls me her cousin!" The two of you shared a laugh.

"Yeah! I remember her calling you that just the other day! I thought it was kinda cool how she considers you family already." Wendy added.

"Y-yeah! But...."

"But?"

Your grip on the crunchy piece of nature grew harder, resulting with a quite, crunch-like noise.

"But _Dipper_\- He doesn't- Ugh! He can't stand me! He hates me!" You glared out into the open field of tree tops, dirt, and a blue sky. Wendy threw her pine cone at a target on the totem pole.

_'Right on target...'_ You thought. The fifteen year old leaned back on the chair and placed both her hands behind her head.

"He doesn't hate you..." She tried to make you feel better, key word,_ tried_. You scoffed, "Yeah, he does. Have you _heard_ the way he talks to me? The way he looks at me? He only treats me like this because he believes that I'm Stan's wannabe daughter!" You let out a loud noise of anger as you threw the pine cone off the roof.

You ended up hitting a car, causing the alarm to go off. Your face flushed, "...Oops." You plopped down with a sigh, letting your legs dangle off the edge of the roof.

"Ha. Jackpot!" Wendy got up from the chair and sat down besides you. "Come on (Y/n), don't beat yourself up like that. I mean, sure, Stan helped your mother alot throughout your childhood, but that would be a stupid reason for someone to hate you."

"Try telling Dipper that."

"(Y/n)..." Wendy sighed, "He just... needs some time getting used to you, that's all, and if he doesn't, then that's his loss, not yours. And besides, you may not be friends with him, but you will forever be stuck with me!" She nudged you a little bit, and a smile started to grow on your face.

"Forever with you? Oh no, I think I'm gonna- **HURK**!" You pretended to vomit into your hand as you covered your mouth.

"Oh, Ha-Ha, laugh it up kid!" She pulled you close by wrapping an arm around your shoulder and giving you a playful noogie. You both started to laugh loudly.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!" You giggled as she released you. The fits of laughter stopped when you both heard a door open and slam close. Wendy leaned forward and squinted her eyes to see who came outside. "Hopefully it isn't Stan, dude..." She mumbled to you as you nodded in response. Her eyes widened, and she nudged you twice. "Hey, it's that Dipper kid you were just crying about."

You grabbed onto her arm with both hands and leaned close. "I wasn't cry- _Pfft!_ Hair! Hair!" Her hair flew into your mouth when you least expected it, making you lean back and start to spit off to the side, she laughed at you.

Dipper's ears seemed to perk up at Wendy's laughter, and he turned around making eye contact with her. A huge, goofy smile appeared on his face. "Ha! Ha! Hi, Wendy!" He called out and waved. "Hey dude." She waved back.

You crawled back to the edge of the platform, right next to Wendy. You looked down at Dipper, and when he saw you, his big smile was replaced with a frown.

"You? What are _you_ doing up there? With Wendy?" Instead of answering his question, you only reeled back and lurched forward, letting yourself spit in his direction. Cause you know, hair. And other reasons. 

"Dude, dude... That was gross." Wendy nonchalantly said. Dipper clenched his teeth with disgust and slight embarrassment. "Anyways, didn't she tell you?" She was addressing Dipper now.

"Tell me what?" He shouted back.

"That me and (Y/n) are like best friends!" She pulled you in for a side hug, closing her eyes and smiling wide. Wendy's smile wasn't the only thing that was wide though, Dipper's eyes grew and his jaw dropped from shock. You smirked down at him and gave him a quick peace sign with your free hand.

He glared at you and said, "That’s-That’s great! Well, I gotta go do some-Things! Ya’ know?" Dipper took a couple of steps backwards, almost tripping over his own two feet a few times.

"Well, alright then, see ya’ later!" Wendy let go of you and waved goodbye, and you both watched as his figure retreated into the forest. As you watched him leave, you couldn't get this **one question** out of your mind.

_‘Where is he going with that camera?'_

_'.....Oh wait, nevermind.' _


	11. Daring Rescue

**Back Inside**

"_Ugh!_ I don't like this! I have to think...."

"Wendy, it's just a crossword puzzle." You sat on the counter with a pencil in hand as Wendy hid her face in her hands. You suggested that the two of you should pass the time with a crossword puzzle, but Wendy rejected that idea, saying it was way too boring.

You didn't listen. You sighed with annoyance. "Wendy! All we gotta do is find the words! It's not that hard! Now, what does the next hint say?" She groaned and looked down at the newspaper. "A six letter word meaning ‘Not interested, tedious.’ Lemme guess, it rhymes with snoring, _touring_, _**pouring**_?" Wendy stared up at you with tired eyes, her voice grew louder with each word she rhymed with. You looked down at the newspaper, trying to drown her out. With a straight face, you shouted out and answered with, "Ignoring!"

"I said a six letter word, not eight." She responded.

Suddenly, the door to the gift shop busted open and an excited, curly haired twin ran in shouting, "HELP!"

You both jumped up and looked at Mabel. She ran up to you and grabbed your hand. "Cousin! Check out this giant smooch mark Norman gave me!" Without letting go of your hand, she turned her head to the side, revealing a huge red mark on her cheek. You and Wendy shouted out in surprise. Mabel laughed at the two of you.

"Ha! I'm just joking! This was from an accident with the leaf blower!" You and Wendy looked at each other with concerned faces. "Do...We even wanna know?" You asked. Mabel yanked you off of the counter and started to drag you towards the stairs. "Dear cousin of mine, I need your help!" The brown eyed twin intertwined your hands together as she raced up the stairs, you struggled to keep up.

"M-My help? With what?" When you reached the top of the stairs, she smiled back at you, braces and all. "I need your help to get me ready for my special date with Norman at five o'clock!" She opened the door to her shared room and walked inside, but you didn't follow her inside immediately.

_'No way...It's the twins’ bedroom!' _You squealed in your head as you smiled. You took your first few steps into the room and looked around.

"It looks just like the show!"

"What?"

"I uh- I said, _Oh!_ A date? Whaddaya know!" You stopped walking when you felt your foot get caught on some (f/c) cloth that lied on the ground. "Uh...what's that?" You pointed down at it and tilted your head. Mabel dove to the floor, covering the (f/c) clothing with her arms and body. You stumbled back a bit.

"OH! It's nothing! It's nothing! DON'T LOOK AT IT!" She picked it up and threw it under the covers of her bed. "Uhhh..." You stood there in confusion. _'Seeing Mabel's antics happen to me in real life are just as confusing as they are in the show...'_ You thought.

"So! What should I do?" She asked you with excitement. You sat on her bed, trying not to sit on...whatever she's hiding under the covers, and you started to think. "Well... for starters, you should get some cleaner clothes on first."

"What's wrong with what I have on?" She asks.

"Nothing! Look, just get all that dirt and grass off of your clothes. I mean, sure, you’re bound to get dirty again because, come on, your date will probably be in the forest and all- But you still wanna look good, right?" You explained. Mabel stared at you in awe before raising a pointed finger to the sky. "You're absolutely right, (Y/n)! I'll be back!"

You glanced around the room as she spent a few moments in the bathroom before running back inside, closing the door. "Okay! What's next?" You lied down on your side and said, "Brush your hair, and- oh! Put on these!" You reached off to the side and grabbed a pair of star earrings. Mabel gasped loudly. "YES!" She lifted both her arms into the air and grabbed both of your hands right after you placed the earrings down. She pulled you off the bed fast, causing your breath to get caught in your throat.

Mabel then continued to spin the both of you around in a circle. "What would I do without you?" She laughed and let go of you. "Woah!" You fell to the floor and looked up at Mabel, who started to brush her long brown hair in front of a mirror.

"I think you'd be just fine without me Mabes." You shrugged as you got up.

**THUNK **

The purple brush that she was using dropped to the floor, you bent down and picked it up. "You dropped this." You held it out to her, but when your eyes connected, you noticed that she was staring at you strangely.

"...Did you just call me Mabes?"

_'Oohhhh....you did call her that didn't you?'_

"Uuhhh... maybe?"

She shouted out, "This is great! You gave me a nickname! This is the start of our **true** friendship finally beginning to blossom." She whispered the last part, then snatched the comb back, saying a quick "Thank you!" as she did so. Mabel went back to brushing her hair while you reclaimed your spot on her bed. 

"You know, we should do this more often." Mabel spoke up. You chuckled, "What? You brush your hair as I watch you awkwardly?" You joked. Mabel giggled and said, "No, silly. Just...hang out, you know? I'm always with my brother, and its not like I don't enjoy his company, but..." She turned away from the mirror and looked at you, "I like having a little girl-time with, you know, another girl."

"...Oh. Me too...."

She smiled and went back to getting ready for her date. You stared down at you feet.

_'This is real... I-I gotta stop spacing out about all of this honestly! It's getting repetitive even for me, Ha! ...Mabel Pines...' _You diverted your attention from your feet to her, _'Enjoys my company...' _then you smiled.

"...You know you still have that red mark on your face?"

Out of nowhere, the door swings open and the other curly haired twin entered the room.

"Mabel. We've gotta talk about Norman." He said as he rushed in, placing his hands on his hips. His eyes landed on you sitting on Mabel's pink bed. "What are you doing in here?"

"I invited her up here." Mabel turned around and looked at her twin, who was beginning to rant, "But why would you- Nevermind! We need to talk about Norman."

"Isn’t he the best? Check out this giant smooch mark he gave me!" She turned her head to the side to show off the "smooch mark" Norman gave her.

"AH!" Dipper proclaimed. Mabel laughed aloud, "Ha! Ha! Gullible. It was just an accident with the leaf blower!" You chuckled to yourself as you remembered when this entire scene would play on your own TV back in your world, but now it's all happening right in front of you!

"That was fun." Mabel spoke. Dipper spoke up again, "No, Mabel, listen! I’m trying to tell you that Norman is not what he seems!" He reached into his vest and pulled out the journal. "Uhh, did you forget that I was here or do you just not care if I know or not?" You asked him.

"Trust me. I didn't forget that you were here. Sadly."

Your face fell. Mabel gasped, "You think he might be a vampire? That would be so _awesome_!" She clenched her hands into fists with excitement. Dipper started to step towards her. "Guess again, sister. SHA-BAM!" He held up the journal to the "Gnomes." page.

_'Oh, the irony!' _You thought. Mabel shrieked in disgusted. Dipper looked down at the journal, realizing his mistake. "Oh, wait. I'm-I'm sorry..." He flipped a couple of pages until he landed on the "Undead" page. "Sha-bam!" He shouted again.

"A zombie?" Mabel tilted her head to the side. "That is not funny, Dipper." You raised a hand, "It's a little funny to me." You joked, but they both ignored you. Dipper starts to pace around, "I’m not joking! It all adds up! The bleeding, the limp!" He turns around and points at Mabel, "He never blinks! Have you noticed that?" 

"Maybe _he’s_ blinking when _you’re_ blinking." She defended.

"Mabel, remember what the book said about Gravity Falls?" His eyes landed on you, "Trust no one!" You rolled your eyes.

"Sheesh, you're very dramatic, do ya’ know that?" You sighed out. Dipper growled at you, but Mabel stepped in front of him to gain his attention. "Well, what about _me_, huh? Why can’t you trust me?" She held her hand out towards you and asked, "(Y/n)! My star earrings please?" You grabbed them and placed them in her hand. "Of course! Here you go your majesty!" You joked. "Why, thank you!" She bowed and placed the earrings on with a, "Beep bop!" 

"Mabel," Dipper started to shake her quickly. "-he's gonna eat your brain!" He warned. Mabel pushed his hands away, an angry look on her face. "Dipper, listen to me." She points to herself, "Norman and I are going on a date at five o’clock, and I'm gonna be ADORABLE-" she jabs a finger into his chest, which caused you to lean forward with interest. "-and he's gonna be DREAMY-" She continued to push him out of the room while he stuttered, "And I am not gonna let you ruin it with one of your crazy CONSPIRACIES!" She shouted at him as she slammed the door in his face.

"...Well...That happened." You muttered. "Ugh! I can't believe him sometimes! I go on_ one _date and he goes on about him being a zombie or something!" She paced around angrily.

"Maybe you should, oh, I dunno, take his warning into consideration?" You suggested with an outstretched hand.

"Oh, no, not you too!" She spun around and stared at you with wide eyes.

"No! I'm just saying Mabel!" You held your hands up in a defensive stance. Mabel throws her head back and sighs loudly.

"(Y/n)- Can you, keep an eye on Dipper? Make sure he doesn't come and ruin my date with his- Ideas?" She pleads with cupped hands. You shrugged, "Sure I guess, just- be careful alright?" You already knew what would happen on that date.

"Don't worry, I will!"

_'Uh oh.' _

You went downstairs and saw Dipper on the couch, looking down at a camera. You walked up to him and leaned against the arm rest. "Hey loser, whatcha looking at?" You asked. He leaned away from you and covered the screen with his hand. "None of your business, that's what." He spat. Right after he said that, Mabel and Norman's laughter sounded off from the camera.

"Did you- Stalk them the entire afternoon?"

Dipper's eyes widened and is face dropped. Ha! His face spelled out GUILTY.

"N-No! I didn't I-I-" You interrupted him, "Lemme guess, you needed evidence that Norman was a zombie, right?" You made groaning noises that resembled a zombie and started to reach out to Dipper as if you were one.

"He-ha- I uh, I mean- Knock it off!" He tried to cover up a chuckle with annoyance, but you heard it already, bringing a smile to your face. "No need to hide that laugh, I already heard it, and besides, "You looked to the side since Dipper didn't bother to look at you as you talked, "I believe you with the whole "Norman isn't what he seems" thing. I mean, I don't think he's a zombie, but he definitely isn't a_ normal man_, ya’ know what I mean? Ha!" you laughed out.

When you looked back up, you noticed that Dipper was staring at you, but....for how long? Are...his cheeks pink?! "You...You believe me?" He uttered out with shock. You slowly nodded at him, maintaining this...weirdly focused eye contact you both were holding right now. "Yeah, I believe you. You're weird-" He slumped his shoulders and looked at you with a monotone face, "-But I believe you." He looked away from you with a glare still on his face. He scoffed, "To be honest, I expected you to laugh in my face and make fun of me for all of this." He whispered, still refusing to look at you.

"Yeah, well, assumptions can be pretty bad sometimes...right?" You smiled him, but when he looked back at you, he didn't smile back. "Yeah, right....Well, I guess I could, uh-_ show _you what I found..." he moved the camera towards you so you'd be able to see the footage he got.

"Ohhhh, so we're acting nice to each other now?" You teased.

"Don't get used to it."

The doorbell rang throughout the shack, and the two preteens glanced at the stairs, seeing an energetic girl running down them, trying to put on a shiny sweater. "Coming!" Mabel opened the door to reveal Norman. "Hey, Norman. How do I look?"

"Shiny..."

"You always know what to say!" They both walked off into the forest together, holding hands. You and Dipper watched them leave, and the both of you let out a breath that was being held in. Dipper leaned into the couch and sighed with defeat, "Soos was right. I don’t have any real evidence." He plays the video which shows Mabel and Norman playing hopscotch. He then fast forwards the video to Norman and Mabel standing next to each other with one of their arms wrapped around the other.

"Awe..." You cooed, but instantly regretted it due to the fact that you knew what would happen next. "I guess I can be kind of paranoid sometimes and—" And then Norman's hand fell off, but he picked it up and reattached it. 

_"_Wait, WHAT?!"

"HUH?!"

You both sharply turned your faces towards each other, eyes wide with shock. Dipper re-winded the tape and watched it again. Dipper screamed and lurched backwards, causing the chair to fall, you stepped back to stay out of the way.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" You leaned over the chair to see if he was okay. He launched up and shouted, "I was right!" Dipper grabbed one of your hands and ran outside.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

_'He wants me to go with him? Holy-' _

"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!" 

Stan was showing off an attraction to a group of tourist. 

"And here we have rock that looks like a face rock, the rock that looks like a face."

"Does it look like a rock?"

"No, it looks like a face."

"Is it a face?"

"It’s a rock that _looks_ like a face!"

Dipper stopped and let go of your hand, trying to get his Grunkle's attention by flailing his arms around and yelling. "Over here! Grunkle Stan!"

"For the fifth time! It's-it's not an actual face!"

Dipper clenched his hands in frustration. As he continued to try and get Stan's attention, you twisted your head around and spotted Wendy driving up in the golf cart. "Dipper!" You shook his shoulder and nodded to Wendy's direction, he gasped. "Good idea!" He took three steps but suddenly stopped and looked at you. "I- CAN'T believe I just said that." You both ran up to Wendy, but Dipper did the talking.

"Wendy! Wendy! I need to borrow the golf cart so I can save my sister from a zombie!" Wendy smirked down at you and Dipper, handing over the keys. She finger-gunned and winked as she walked away saying, "Try not to hit any pedestrians." The two of you stared in awe and smiled at the red head as she walked away. That’s when you spoke up.

“Man, I love Wendy.”

"Come on!"

Dipper pressed on and hopped into the golf cart with you seating yourself right next to him. He started up the vehicle, but before he could back up, you interrupted with- "Wait- how do you know how to drive?"

"That's not important right now!"

The two of you were about to drive off, until Soos appeared out of nowhere and stopped you guys. "Dudes, it's me, Soos." He reached down and handed you a shovel, since you were the closest one to him. "This is for the zombies."

You spoke up before Dipper could. "Thanks, Soos." The handyman reached towards the ground once more and passed on a baseball bat. "And this is in case you see a piñata." You took the baseball bat and placed it on the floor of the cart right next to the shovel. Dipper beat you with a response this time. "Uh...Thanks?" He placed his arm on the back of your seat and started to back away. "Better safe than sorry!" Soos shouted out.

"Bye Soos!" You stuck your entire upper body out of the golf cart and waved goodbye to Soos. Suddenly, the vehicle drove right over a bumpy path which caused the entire cart to bounce roughly for a split second. "Woah!" You were launched out of your seat and almost fell out of the speeding golf cart. You would've taken some serious damage if it wasn't for Dipper, who grabbed the back of your shirt- along with one of the straps of your overalls- and yanked you back into the cart.

"If you fall out of the golf cart, I'm not coming back for you!" He yelled.

"Whatever!" You leaned down and picked up the baseball bat that was knocking against your feet, "I'm using this!" You addressed towards the curly haired twin, who answered you with an eye-roll. Dipper made a sharp turn, going down a path that was heading into the forest. You would've fallen again if you didn't hang onto the cart this time.

"Don't worry, Mabel! I'll save you from that zombie!" He proclaimed.

"You could give me a little heads-up next time you do that, you know!" That's when the two of you heard a cry for help.

"Hold on!" He shouted again. Dipper's focus didn't falter, he just ignored you and continued to stare into the forest as he drove. You sat there by his side and stared at him. _'...Still can't believe I'm here. And now I'm sitting right next to Dipper Pines, the both of us on our way to save his sister...Wow.'_

You may have gotten too caught up in your thoughts. In fact, you were so distracted that you never realized his eyes kept darting from your peering (e/c) eyes to the dirt path. His face scrunched up in annoyance when he finally asked, "Are you just gonna sit there and _stare _or do I have to hit you with that shovel to snap you out of it?"

Before you could even respond to him, the golf cart dipped down a steep hill, leading to a glowing area with large mushrooms and vibrant plant life. You leaned forward as you gawked at the scene that was unfolding a few feet away.

Just up ahead, were the Gnomes trying to pin down Mabel.


	12. Tourist Trapped

"The more you struggle, the more awkward this is gonna be for everybody! Just- ha ha, okay. Get her arm there, Steve!" the leader of the Gnomes commanded. As you and Dipper proceeded to get out of the golf cart and ready your weapons, you watched as Mabel punched away a Gnome, which ended with the small creature supporting himself against a tree, throwing up a rainbow.

"Awesome..." You mumbled.

"What the heck is going on here?!" When Dipper shockingly asked that question, a Gnome ran by him and hissed loudly, causing him to drop his shovel and flinch.

"Dipper! (Y/n)! Norman turned out to be a bunch of Gnomes! And they're total jerks!" Mabel warned. One of the Gnomes pulled at her hair, "Hair! Hair! Hair!"

Dipper held the journal close to his chest. "Gnomes? Huh, I was _way_ off." You walked over to Dipper to get a closer look at the journal. He flipped open the journal to a page about the Gnomes and read it aloud. "Gnomes, little men of the Gravity Falls Forest. Weaknesses, unknown." He lowered the book and the two of you looked over at Mabel, who was tied to the forest floor by the Gnomes.

"Aw, come on!"

"Hey, HEY! Let go of my sister!" He approached Jeff, the Gnome Leader, who stood on a small rock. You picked up the shovel that Dipper previously dropped and followed him. Jeff turned around and nervously spoke, "Oh! Ha ha, hey there! Um, you know, this is all really just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sister's not in danger. She's just marrying all one thousand of us and becoming our Gnome Queen for all eternity! Isn't that right, honey?"

"You guys are butt-faces! Mmf-!" A nearby Gnome covered her mouth. You handed the shovel back to Dipper and he held it up in a threatening position, you did the same with your baseball bat. 

"Give her back right now, or else!"

"Yeah! Let her go, now!"

"You kids think you can stop us? Neither of you have no idea what we're capable of. The Gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with the-"

The two of you shared a look, then Dipper scooped up Jeff with the shovel and tossed him to the side.

"AH!"

Dipper ran over to his sister, freed her, grabbed her hand, and guided her to the golf cart.

"Oh- Here we go!" You excitedly whispered to yourself as you also ran back to the golf cart.

"He's getting away with our queen! No! No! No!" Jeff shouted. The three of you squeezed into the cart together, Mabel separating the two "rivals" by seating herself in the middle. "Seatbelt." Dipper reminded Mabel. "Wait, seatbelts? How come you tell **her** to wear her seatbelt but not me? I almost flew** off **the darn thing!" Dipper already started to drive away. "Because I care about Mabel, but I don't care about you!"

"Guys! Guys! Stop it! The Gnomes could be gaining on us!"

"I wouldn't worry about it. See their little legs? Ha, ha! Those suckers are tiny!" Dipper teased.

**STOMP **

Dipper pressed on the brakes rather harshly, and all of you jerked to a stop. A large shadow loomed over the golf cart, and all three of you twisted your heads to find the culprit. Your eyes traveled to Dipper, "Tiny, huh?" Dipper scowled at you, but only for a short time. "Dang..." Mabel muttered. 

The Gnomes had merged together to create a giant, monster-like version of one of their own. Jeff was perched at the very top, obviously being the leader of this operation. The twins shared the same face expression, one created from pure terror, but yours held a large smile, for some _weird _reason. 

"All right, teamwork, guys. Like we practiced." The Gnome monster growled very loudly, raising his arms above his head.

"Move! Move!" Mabel frantically pressured. Dipper sped away before a large hand could smash you all into the ground. You and Mabel kept your eyes on the monster while Dipper drove to the Mystery Shack.

"Come back with our queen!" Jeff bellowed from afar. "It's getting closer!" Mabel informed.

"This is actually happening!" You accidentally shouted. "What?" Mabel asked.

"Oh, nothing! Don't worry about it!"

The Gnome monster launched a few Gnomes at the golf cart, and when they landed on their destination, they proceeded to attack. A Gnome swung towards Mabel, but she elbowed it out of the way. "Nice!" You cheered. A nasty growl came from behind you, so without any hesitation you swung the baseball bat that was still in your hands and hit the Gnome off the side of the golf cart. You looked back at the living statue as he tumbled away.

"Nice hit, cousin!" She punched your shoulder.

"Woo-Hoo! Home run!"

When a Gnome landed behind Dipper and roared, the hat-wearing twin aggressively grabbed the Gnome and bashed him against the steering wheel numerous times. 

"Schmebulock... "

Dipper smashed him against the horn once more and then threw him to the side. Both you and Mabel watched with wide eyes.

"That was brutal."

"That's my bro!" 

The cheers from his sister were interrupted by a Gnome who landed on the hood of the golf cart and launched itself at Dipper’s face. You couldn't help but flinch and laugh as the living lawn ornament scratched his face. 

“AAHH!”

“I’ll save you Dipper!” Mabel proclaimed as she constantly tried to punch the Gnome off his face. With one, hard punch, the Gnome was sent flying out of the cart, but took Dipper’s hat with him.

“Thanks Mabel...” Dipper spoke deliriously, face clearly beaten.

“Don’t mention it.”

A large shadow appeared over the cart again, and when the three of you looked up, you all realized that a huge tree was thrown in front of the path. Mabel shot out of her seat and pointed, “Look out!”

Dipper tried to maneuver the vehicle out of the way, but ended up losing control. All three of you screamed as the cart flipped over, and with what luck- right in front of the Mystery Shack.

You groaned as you rubbed your head and clutched your side. The quick, throbbing shots of pain from where you landed made you forget about the giant Gnome monster for a few moments.

_‘Ugh...The show makes these scenes appear less painless...’ _The monster started to walk closer towards the fallen cart, so you all climbed out and stood your ground.

“Stay back man!” Dipper warned as he threw the shovel at the monster, who merely punched it to the ground, breaking it with ease. The Pines twins held onto each other and screamed aloud, you screamed as well, but didn’t have anyone to hold onto.

“Where’s Grunkle Stan?” Dipper said, a little shaken up. Just from Dipper saying that little phrase, it was then you remembered that you were hanging out with a couple of_ kids_, and that for the rest of the summer- if you somehow eventually stayed for that long- you’ll be going on these crazy, dangerous adventures with a couple of-

“Kids...” You whispered. Dipper stood in front of you and Mabel with his arms spread out in a protective manner. As the Gnomes drew closer, you all stepped back. The creature had cornered you guys.

“It’s the end of the line, kids! Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!”

You never thought you'd be _this _afraid of Gnomes before...

“There’s gotta be a way outta this!” Dipper reached into his vest and pulled out the journal. As he did so, Mabel glanced at you, then back at the monster with weary eyes. You knew she had an idea, but you hoped that it wasn't altered due to the fact that you were here now.

Wait a minute, that’s... actually something you should think about. Will events that happened in the show change significantly now that you’re here? Will some ever even happen? Will new ones be created?

“I gotta do it.” Mabel stepped forward, Dipper was close behind her. “What? Mabel, don’t do this! Are you crazy?” Her eyes shifted to him as she whispered, “Trust me.”

“Eeeeehhh!” Your hands clenched into fist with excitement. 

_'It’s happening!’_

“What?” 

“Dipper, Just this once. Trust me!” Mabel whispered again. Dipper actually glances at _you_, expecting you to back him up in some sort of way. All you could do is send him a shrug. His eyes divert from you, to Mabel, to the Gnomes, then back to Mabel. With a sigh, he slowly backs away with his hands held up.

“Alright, Jeff. I’ll marry you.” Mabel declares. The monster stomped the ground with happiness.

“Hot dog! Help me down there, Jason!” Jeff proclaimed as he climbed down various body parts of the monster. “Thanks, Andy! All right, left foot, there we go, watch those fingers, Mike.” Mabel kneeled down so Jeff could have better access to her hand. The Gnome leader held out a diamond ring. “Eh? Eh?” He jested. Mabel impishly held out her hand and Jeff slid the ring onto her finger.

_“_Bada-bing, bada-bam! Now let's get you back into the forest, honey!”

Mabel admires the ring until she says- “You may now kiss the bride!”

“Well, don't mind if I do.” Jeff leaned up towards Mabel, expecting a quick kiss from his future queen, but the pre-teen had other plans. When Mabel leaned in close enough, she whipped out a leaf blower from behind her back and aims it at Jeff. Dipper gasped in awe and you pumped your hands while whispering, “Get em! Get em!”

“Ah! Hey, hey, wait a minute! Whoa, whoa! Wh-what's going on?!” Jeff tries to escape but gets sucked into the leaf blower with half his body sticking out of it. “That's for lying to me!” Mabel shouted. She flipped the switch on the back of the leaf-blower. “THAT'S for breaking my heart!” Jeff started to get sucked in even further. “Ow! My face!” Mabel smiles back at you and Dipper. “And THIS is for messing with my family!”

“Family?” You muttered. The three of you held onto the leaf blower together, aiming it towards the giant.

“Wanna do the honors?” Mabel asked. “On three!” Dipper shouted. And together the three of you counted, “One, two, three!” The force of Jeff being blasted out of the leaf blower caused the trio to fly back and land in a pile of leaves. Jeff was shot out of the leaf blower and into the Gnome monster, separating them into individual Gnomes. Jeff continued to fly off into the distance while screaming out, ”I'll get you back for this!...” The rest of the Gnomes fell from the air and all rambled different complaints.

“Who's giving orders? I need orders!”

“My arms are tired.” 

Mabel blew them away with the leaf blower, and they tumble back into the forest.

“Anyone else want some?”

They all scamper back into the forest, well, not all of them, one got caught in plastic that was carried away by a goat. You giggled at that.

“Boop!” Mabel playfully said as she picked out a huge leaf from your hair. “This is going in the scrapbook!” She waved the orange and yellow leaf around in front of your face as you smiled. Dipper rolled his eyes and started to walk away.

“Hey, Dipper? I, um... I'm sorry for ignoring your advice. You really were just looking out for me.” Mabel apologized.

“Oh, don't be like that. You saved our butts back there.”

“Yeah, you really did, Mabel.”

“I guess I'm just sad that my first boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of Gnomes.”

You and Dipper exchanged looks. Dipper stepped up to his sister, “Look on the bright side. Maybe the next one _will_ be a vampire!” Mabel perked up immediately. “Oh, you're just saying that!”

“Awkward sibling hug?”

“Awkward sibling hug.” The twins hugged each other and patted one another’s back. 

“Pat, pat.”

You stood off to the side and watched everything unfold. You were about to walk inside without them but you were suddenly pulled into a group hug.

“Awkward group hug!” Mabel hollered. She lifted both you and Dipper off the ground and into a tight embrace. Dipper’s pale cheek rested flat against your (s/c) cheek.

_'Why is his face so soft?'_

Well, this certainly was awkward. He laughed nervously and said, “Hopefully this won’t be a reoccurring thing in the future?”

“Trust me bro-bro, this isn’t the last awkward group hug we’ll have!”

“Ugh....”

Once Mabel placed you down, you all walked into the Mystery Shack together. Stan was behind the register counting his profits. The second he saw the three of you he had to crack a joke.

“Yeesh. You three get hit by a bus or something? Ahah!” He slammed his hand on the counter but the twins decided to ignore him for they were too tired for his antics. As they walked away, except for you- you walked up to the counter, Stan called out to them.

“Uh, hey! W-wouldn't you know it? Um, I accidentally overstocked some inventory, so, uh... how's about each of you take one item from the gift shop? On the house, y'know?”

Oh, here it comes!

Mabel folded her hands while Dipper folded his arms. 

“Really?” 

_“_What's the catch?"

“The catch is do it before I change my mind, now take something.”

As the duo looked around for something to call their own, you lifted yourself onto the counter and swung your legs. “Hey, hey, hey! Off- the counter!” Stan pushed you off the counter and you landed on the wooden floor with a thud. Dipper’s laughter signaled to you that he’s returned from searching the gift shop. You lifted your head up to scowl at him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it because he was wearing his **Pine Tree** hat! Your mouth hung open as you stared at him. Dipper smugly acknowledged your goofy expression and chuckled as he picked a red leaf from your hair.

“Do you always look this stupid?”

“Shut up._”_

Mabel interrupted your exchange with her brother. “And I will have a... GRAPPLING HOOK! Yes!” Stan glanced down at you and Dipper in confusion. “Wouldn't she rather have, like, a doll, or something?” On cue, Mabel fired the grappling hook towards the ceiling and pulled herself up.

“GRAPPLING HOOK!”

“Fair enough!”

The twins both made their way out of the gift shop, Mabel ran while Dipper strolled.

“Bye cousin!” Mabel poked her head back inside and left without another word. You could faintly hear Dipper complain over the sound of footsteps going up the stairs, “Why do you call her that- she’s not even your cousin....”

“You don’t have to be blood related to be considered family, Dipper....”

Stan looked down at you and asked, “Seriously though, why does she call you that?” All you could do was shrug.

“Well-“ You started, “I’ll just, head back home. Goodnight Grunkle Stan-“

“Wait, you’re not taking anything from the gift shop, kid?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

You shouted to yourself, _‘NO YOU’RE NOT! (Y/N), IF YOU DON'T TAKE SOMETHING I’LL-‘_

“Welp, at least spend the night here, it’s way too dark for you to be walking home all alone.” Stan pointed to the doors of the Shack. “I’ll call your old lady and tell her you’ll be staying here for the night.” You smiled, too widely in fact. “O-Okay! And besides, my mom's not that old...." You suspected.

"Trust me, she is."

"No she’s not, but whatever you say Grunkle Stan...."

You started to back up towards the door and shot out a quick- “Goodnight Stan!” You stepped into the small living room, reaching your arms out into the darkness in search for the TV remote. “Found it-“

“Kid.”

You jumped- hard. When you turned around, Stan's silhouette was standing in the doorway. “You’re not gonna go change into something more comfortable?” He pointed a thumb upstairs, “That bag of yours is still in the closet, ya’ know?” Then he walked away. After you calmed your heart down, you quietly stepped upstairs in search of your bag. The search went on for two long minutes, but after opening several doors, one of them including the twins’ bedroom, you found your bag with extra clothes in it. You changed into your short sleeved shirt and basketball shorts, then returned to the couch, turning on the TV and burying yourself in a blanket.

_‘It’s freezing... And dark...’_ You thought as you drifted off with a smile on your face.


	13. Joanne and Stan

Everything was dark.

You thought of everything. Everything that has occurred in the past four days. You thought of today, and how you experienced the first episode of Gravity Falls. 

You thought of how you had the strongest feeling that this might be the last dream you have of Gravity Falls before you woke up in your_ real _bedroom in the _real _world, returning to your _real _life. 

You thought of the Twins. Dipper and Mabel.

Mabel had taken a liking to you so quickly. 

She calls you cousin.

_'How cute.'_

You thought of how amazing the forest looked when you drove right through it on that golf cart. 

_'The golf cart- I was **this **close to flying off the darn thing! I would've if it hadn't been for-'_

Dipper. You thought of Dipper.

Now there's a guy who hated you. 

His face would twist into a scowl whenever you were present. It seemed that everything he would do and say towards you would drip with hope- hope that you'd be out of his life very soon. 

Dipper was _annoying._

But he did save you from tumbling out of the cart....

So? He tried to force you to use a rock instead of a hammer- a rock!

Then there was a light. Granted, it was small and dull, but you walked over to it anyways. Well, more like you ghosted over to it, the gravity was weird here. Every step you took sent you floating a few inches above the ground for a couple seconds too long. Then, once you've regained your footing, you were sent right back to your previous state, slow and afloat. 

At least the gravity affect on your hair was cool, it seemed as if your (h/c) hair had a mind of its own.

Once you've reached the sphere of light, a small table came into view right beside it. On the table was a note, which you reached over to pick it up. You began to read it aloud.

"Dear Snake-"

Oh brother....

"-I have important errands to attend to, so carry on." 

Bill Cipher. 

"So.....Now what?" 

** _Creak...._ **

You whirled your head to what you presumed to be an empty space, only to lay your eyes on a door.

_'Where did that come from?!'_

_'The mindscape is a strange place....' _You thought, crumpling the note the demonic triangle left for you. Once your hand rested on the rusted doorknob, you turned it slowly. Why rush? You were in no hurry. 

Once the door had a sizable crack in it, you squinted one of your eyes to see what was on the other side of the door. The inside lead into your house, well, not your _actual _house, but the one you've been staying in while you lived in Gravity Falls. You couldn't recognize some of the furniture, but you did notice a small child playing with a baby- You?

The little boy held his finger out to the baby version of you. _Baby-You _grabbed the child's finger and started making cute, little baby noises. The boy had dark brown curls all over his head, brown eyes and light brown skin. "Hey, it's that kid who's apparently my older brother in this universe, his name's- Eli, right?" You whispered to yourself. The Young-Eli cheerfully spoke to Baby-You. "Hi! I'm Eli! Your older brother!" Baby-You giggled at Eli, causing him to smile.

The entire vision made you smile to yourself, leaving you slightly disappointed when the memory repeated itself for being so short. You closed the door and backed away. A loud gasp escaped your mouth when you realized that your surroundings had changed. Instead of drifting alone in the darkness, you stood in the hallway of locked doors that Bill has previously shown you. "Uhh..." You scooted over to the next door, which you figured out was unlocked. "I wonder what's behind this door..." You entered the room, it being the same as the last, except a younger looking version of your mother, from this universe of course, sat at the dining table while Baby-You played with toys on the living room floor.

Real-You strolled over to Baby-You, who stared at you and held up a stuffed snake with a chubby, small hand. She wanted you to take it. "Oh! Um- Thanks?" You grabbed the snake plushie and sent a smile of fake gratitude to Baby-You, who returned your gesture with a few bubbly giggles and a couple of hand claps. You examined the plushie in your hand. The snake was missing its left eye. "Of course."

Baby-You was chilling in diapers as she continued to play with her toys. You smiled to yourself, well, uh- **At** yourself, placing your hands on your knees and bending closer to the toddler. "Aw, look how cute I am." Baby-You slowly turned her head and eyes up to you. With no emotion in her tone, Baby-You _**speaks**_, "Yeah, I wonder what happened."

".......What?"

Young Eli runs pass you and out the door, disrupting the creepy moment. Eli shouts out before he leaves, "Bye! I'mma go play with that white girl, Mommy!" From the table, your mother shouted back with frustration, "ELI! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU- CALL HER WENDY! IT'S NOT NICE TO CALL HER THAT!" The hand that was in her messy (h/c) hair slid down to the surface of the table. You chuckled at her outburst and made your way to your mother, avoiding Baby-You during the trip. Papers were scattered all over the dining table while your mother filled out a resume. You read the papers until your (e/c) eyes landed on your mother's name.

Joanne (L/n). Her name is Joanne (L/n).

"Hmm, Joanne and Eli (L/n)."

Your mother and brother from Gravity Falls.

You left and entered another memory. "Oh, geez. It's you." You almost walked over Baby-You who sat on the wooden planks of a soon-to-be Mystery Shack. Everything that was a certain distance became foggy and blurred, as if it was censored. You crouched down towards Baby-You and asked, "So, what's with this memory? Why does it look so weird?" Baby-You pointed a tiny, yet thick, (s/c) finger at two figures. Both were somewhat blurry, and for some reason, you couldn't move your legs anymore. It was as if your feet were glued to the floorboards.

Even though your vision was altered, you were able to decipher the conversation between the two figures. The voices became recognizable after a few seconds, it was your mother and Stan, clearly in some sort of disagreement. Their words and appearances became clearer, but the door that allowed entrance into the memory drew closer to your backside. You felt the door hit your back lightly, so you grasped the doorknob in case something intense was going to happen. 

All you heard from your mother was, "You owe me Stanford!...... Please....." You watched as she placed a hand on Stan's shoulder, which he lightly grabs.

_What._

He sighs and mumbles out, "Fine...." Your eyes widened as your face fell. Did....Did he just-

"Stop...."

"Huh?" You shook your head and leaned closer to Baby-You once more. Her back was facing you, but your eyes took in how she was viciously shaking. From being cold or for feeling a certain emotion, you didn't know.

"B-Baby-Me? What's wrong?"

"Stop...." She, well you, mumbled. "What? Stop what? Baby-Me?" You placed a hand on the baby's back, ready to pick up and comfort the infant. But then, Baby-You twisted only her **head** to face you, the horrid action resembling owls, or even **demons!**

"WHOA!" You shouted. 

Baby-You wore an absolutely livid expression, with her right eye closed tightly but her left eye remained wide open. The baby's left eye resembled **Bill Cipher's** own eye, a large, yellow, glowing eye with a black slit in the middle of it.

"I said- _**STOP STALLING!**_" The baby shouted with a demonic voice. She raised her small hands and sent a powerful gust of wind right at you, sending you flying backwards out the door.

"AAH!" 

You tumbled a few times into the hallway. _Ringing. _An intense ringing filled your ears as the wind picked up.

"Uurgh..." You tried to lift yourself, but one of your arms gave out, luckily, you still had the other arm to support your upper body. When you lifted your head, you came face to face with the giant door that had the extreme security measures. The door that Bill was so invested in for some reason. The ringing in your ears became louder, and_ louder_, and **_louder_**, and_** lo-**_

"_**STOP STALLING!**_" The demonic voice shrieked again, but it wasn't your voice, it was **Bill's**. You laid on your back, arching it a bit, and covered your ears while squeezing your eyes tightly. You desperately tried to drown out the ringing with your own screams.

"_AAAAAAHHH_!"

“AH!” You cried out as you fell off the couch and onto the floor. You were still wrapped up in a warm blanket, so the contrast with the cold floorboards caused a shiver to ride up your spine. The T.V. was off, someone must’ve turned it off while you were asleep last night. You looked down to see your _bare_ legs. “Legs!” You covered the lower half of you body with the blanket, and peered underneath it when you were _certain_ no one was around.

_‘Oh, you had shorts on. Nevermind.’ _

You placed a hand on your forehead as you thought of the dream you just experienced._ 'What even was that? Stop stalling? What did you- Bill. What did Bill mean when he said that? And what kind of relationship did your mother and Stan have?!'_

“Disco Girl! Coming through!”

The faint singing of a preteen boy could be heard from upstairs. “No way.”

_'Should you go up there?'_

Yes, Definitely, Absolutely!

All your previous thoughts were put on hold as you quietly trotted upstairs. “That girl is you! Ooh Oooh, Ooh Oooh!” You held back a laugh by covering your mouth, but it came out as some sort of snorting sound. The melodious sounds of Dipper singing “Disco Girl” came from the opposite side of a door.

_‘I wonder if he’s getting out...’ _You waited for a few seconds to see if the twin would exit the bathroom anytime soon so you could make fun of him face to face. The sound of the shower turning on put your plans on hold. “Darn...” You placed a finger under your chin, “What else could I do- OH! The journal!” You swiftly tiptoed closer to his room, poking your head inside once you’ve arrived. Mabel was sprawled out on her bed, snoring aloud. You entered the shared room, trying not to make a sound. In one long step, your toes pressed against a loose floorboard, letting out a wild creaking noise. You froze and shifted to Mabel, who hasn’t stirred ever since you've walked in. You sighed with relief and made it to Dipper’s bed, making yourself comfortable atop of it. 

You picked up the journal and flipped through the pages, well, not without geeking out about holding it first. You lightly bounced up and down, Dipper's bed swishing along with you. _‘Oh my gosh! I’m holding the actual journal-‘_

“_gaaaaaahhh!_” You released a small, quiet, squeaky noise of excitement as you kicked your feet in the air. When you opened the book, a certain smell hit your nose. _‘Hold the phone-‘_ you shoved your face into the creases of the book, taking a good whiff. You reeled backwards and gasped, “It smells like a forest!” You muttered. Okay- **NOW**, you started to flip through the pages. You see some of the earlier pages that were written by the _real_ Stanford himself. These pages were either ripped, burned, or covered with_ blood_. You shuddered.

“Okay, moving on now.” You finally made it to Dipper’s entries, granted he didn’t have much, he had barely experienced his first adventure so far- One of many, and you were going to be a part of them! You read some of the entries, sure it was an invasion of privacy, but you weren’t really reading this to find out some of Dipper’s secrets, you just wanted to read it because- well, look at it! It’s the journal!

A sentence where Wendy and Soo’s names were misspelled was scribbled over, as if Dipper was trying to erase his mistakes. _'I knew he didn't know our names at first!'_

“Everyone has nice little sketches of themselves...” Then you got to a page about _you._

“...What.”

There was a drawing of you, but it was** bad**. Obviously, this was drawn _purposely_ horrible just to spite you. The drawing of you put on a couple extra pounds, had giant buck teeth, a hunched back, and your tongue was sticking out.

“Wow, seriously?” Off to side were a few notes about you. The one that stood out the most was this one, “This journal says_ 'Trust No One,'_ and this girl right here is the **perfect **example of that!” Various smaller notes littered the page, “Stan raised her,” was repeatedly scribbled down all over. You scoffed with a smirk. At the bottom of the page was small writing that said, “Regardless of everything, she was the first one to listen and believe me when I said there were strange things going on in Gravity Falls... <s>Maybe she's not as bad as I assume her to be...</s>” The last part of the sentence was scratched out, but you were able to read it anyways. His "hidden" message about you brought a smile to your face. You closed the journal and scooted off of his bed, throwing the book back onto it. “Well, that’s that.” You left the room and intended to head back downstairs, ready to-

“HEY YOU!” Dipper pressed, a towel wrapped around his head.

The second your eyes landed on him, your cheeks puffed out from holding back a huge, unattractive chortle. Your cheeks didn't do their job. The towel holding up his hair made him appear less masculine than usual.

"What are you doing up here? You were _just _asleep on the couch downstairs!?"

And the interrogation began.

"What's with the towel- Wait, how'd you know I was on the couch? Were you watching me sleep?!" You accused, pointing at him. Dipper's face changed from a pale scowl to a bright pink. 

"I-I wasn't watching you sleep! I was- I was just-" You cut him off by taunting him, "You were watching me sleep!" You shouted, a little bit too excitedly. Dipper stomped his foot and closed his eyes, "No! I wasn't!" 

"Yes you were!" 

"No I wasn't! I'm not a creep!"

"Your internet history says otherwise, HEYO!" Mabel randomly intervened, smacking Dipper's shoulder. "Oh! (Y/n)! Come on, I gotta show you something!" Mabel grabbed your hand and guided you back into the room. What the heck? She was just snoring her butt off not even a minute ago, now she's up and about. She stopped and told you, "Okay! Stay right there!" She dove right under the covers of her bed and dug around for something. As she did that, her brother entered the room with the towel still wrapped around his head. Your cheeks puffed out again and you snorted, which didn't go unnoticed by Dipper. He scrunched up his face and hurried towards his bed, cheeks burning red. "GOT IT!" You jumped and diverted your attention from Dipper to Mabel, who was now holding up a (f/c) sweater with a cute little snake design sewn to the front of it. 

A snake- Again? There had to be a reason as to why this particular animal was a reoccurring thing. Maybe it was your symbol? Like how Mabel is a Shooting Star and Dipper is a Pine Tree? Regardless, you really liked the sweater. "Oh!" You took the sweater from Mabel's hands and held it up to get a better view. "Is this for me?"

"Yes! Do you like it?"

You moved your head so she could see your expression. "Yes! Definitely! Absolutely!"

She screamed and high-fived you, **hard**.

"Ouch!"

"I high-five hard." She nonchalantly said as you rubbed your palm. Her phrase reminded you of an episode where she said the same exact thing to Grunkle Stan. "Yeah, okay, but out of all the animals to pick, why a snake?" Mabel perked up at your question, some unknown light source lit up her brown eyes. "Oh! Well Dipper was the one who suggested that I put a snake on your sweater!" Your eyebrows narrowed as you delivered your heated stare towards the male twin, who was sitting on his bed with both his hands drying his hair with the towel. He tensed up, eyes wide and frozen in place when his eyes connected with yours. "Oh, he did, did he?" Dipper coughed and inspected every inch of the room except for you. "M-Maybe she doesn't need to know how that design ended up on her sweater, Mabel?" He nervously spoke as you shook your head.

When you looked back at Mabel, a scrapbook was pushed into your face, not close enough to hit you but still very close. "I'm keeping a scrapbook of everything that happens this summer! Isn't it cool?" She smiled at the end of her sentence. You viewed the page that was opened up to you, it had two, somewhat crumbled up leaves taped to it, along with messy writing. One of the leaves was orange and yellow while the other one was red. "This leaf is the one I picked out of your hair-" Mabel explained as she pointed at the orange and yellow leaf. Her finger moved on to the next leaf. "-And this is the one Dipper took out of your hair, I had to get it out of the journal-" She whispered the next part to you, "I think he was trying to hide it." Your grip on the sweater tightened as you turned to the side to get a better view of Dipper, who was currently sitting in the criss-cross position while drying his brown, curly locks. "You kept the leaf that you picked outta my hair weirdo?" Dipper froze in place as his face flushed pink once again.

"I uh- Leave me alone!" He faced his back towards you and continued to dry his hair in embarrassment. Mabel's laugh regained your attention. "Anyways! I need your help cousin!"

"Stop calling her that!" Her brother spat, his back was still facing you. "I need your help in erasing a past mistake," Mabel's expression changed drastically when she said, "past mistake."

"Uhh, okay?"

"Great! Get changed and meet me downstairs!"

"The only clothes I have are the ones I wore yesterday, though..."

"It's fine! Where we're going it won't matter what you're wearing." Okay, that last comment scared you. When you looked at Dipper for some reassurance, you remembered how he turned himself to face the opposite direction to avoid the two of you. "Psst!" Mabel made sure she only had your attention. Once she was certain that she did, she pointed at her bother and wiggled her fingers under her armpit. You mouthed out "What?" Mabel repeated the action more urgently, her face straining with anticipation. That's when you realized what she wanted you to do.

_'.....Ohhhhh.'_

You tiptoed closer to Dipper, who was unaware of what was about to transpire. Unknown to you, Mabel grabbed her camera and started recording you and her brother. You held your breath so he wouldn't feel or hear it. It all happened so fast, one second Dipper was drying his hair to distract himself from your presence, and then your hands were underneath a specific area near his armpits, tickling him with no mercy.

"AH-HAHAHAHA!" Dipper squealed as his body shook and spasmed out under the playful touch of your fingers. Mabel laughed along with her brother as she recorded everything from a safe distance. The towel that was on Dipper's head had fallen to the floor as he squirmed in mild "discomfort." You had your tongue sticking out of your mouth as you smiled.

"AHAHAHA! W-WAIT! S-S-STOP! AAH!" Dipper's pleas didn't match his elated face expression. The fun came to a stop as you pulled away, leaving Dipper to crouch forward and let out shaky breaths. When you looked back at Mabel, she held her camera up, and gave you a thumbs up, which you returned. "You..." That came from Dipper. He spun his head to you, his pink cheeks puffed out in anger.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!" He reached for his towel and gripped it hard as he started to get up. His quick movements indicated that he was going to try and get you back. You and Mabel let out excited squeals and laughter as the two of you bolted out of the room. "AND STAY OUT!" Dipper slammed the door after that. 

"Why are we** all** the way out here?" You didn't even know where you were, you've never seen this location when you watched the show. Mabel led you to an empty field with a large tree growing out of it. The two of you approached the tree as Mabel spoke, "You remember how I told you to distract Grunkle Stan for a bit?" You squinted your (e/c) eyes as you questioned her motives. "Yes?...."

"Well, it's cause I needed- This!" Mabel held up a pocket knife. Aaaaand you didn't feel safe anymore. "W-WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!" You shouted. "Relax. Like I said earlier, I'm erasing a past mistake..." She neared the tree and asked, "Can I sit on your shoulders?"

"What?" You stood next to her and followed to where her finger pointed. "To reach that." Up on the bark of the tree was the phrase, "Mabel+Norman" surrounded by a heart. "Oh.... I didn't- GAH!" Without any warning, Mabel climbed up your back and placed her hand near the engraving. How is she **this** heavy?!

"Stay still!"

"How about a little warning next time?!"

"Okay! Hey (Y/n), I'mma use you as a ladder- Haha!" Mabel glared down at the message, then she shoved the knife into the heart with a loud grunt. You jumped and stumbled at the noise. "S-Sorry!" You uttered out, trying to stay still. Mabel proceeded to cross out the heart with a large "X."

"There, done." She whispered. She looked down at you, still sitting on your shoulders, when she asked, "By the way, what were you asking Grunkle Stan when I asked you to distract him? He looked kinda scared when you questioned him."

"I uh- I asked him about- Wa-WHOA!"

"AAH!"

The two of you fell backwards and tumbled down the small hill. 

** _Earlier_ **

"So, Stan..."

"What do you want, kid?" The_ "dream" _that you had caused you to question Joanne and Stan's past relationship. You** had** to ask him.

"What do you think about my mom?"

Stan choked and spit out the soda he was sipping, it dripped onto his dirty, white shirt and down to the floorboards. He started to stutter and avoided looking at you. "I um, I don't- What kinda question is _that?!_" He shouted at you in an accusing tone, trying to make **you** the guilty one. "Why are you avoiding the subject?" You bluntly stated with no specific emotion.

"Shut up! D-Don't you have somewhere to be right now?"

You shrugged your shoulders, "Maybe?" Stan pointed to the front door and shouted as sweat dripped down his forehead, "Go home, kid!"

"(Y/n), I got the thing, let's go!" Mabel yelled as she ran passed you and out the door. Both you and Stan stared at her in confusion. As you headed for the door, Stan called out to you, "H-Hey! I plan on taking all of us fishing tomorrow, so- Be there, alright?"

"Okay-"

"-And don't ask me about your mother anymore!" 

The twins were forced to walk you home after you and Mabel returned to the shack covered in dirt and grass. "Geez, what were you two doing? Wrestling in tall grass or something?" You remembered Stan's comment when the two of you walked in. "Mabel, after we drop _this_ off-" Dipper gestured to you, "We have to go get some green paint for our, uh, "Family Bonding" thing."

"Did you just call me- _"this?"_ Excuse you, Mr. I never wear anything except that dirty vest and shorts." You pointed at him with an open hand, lifting it up and down in the air to point out his attire. "By the way, do you have lice under that hat of yours or what?" You flicked the end of his hat, to which he grabbed and adjusted with a scowl. Mabel skipped a few feet ahead of you guys, choosing to ignore another episode the two of you were having.

"Knock it off!"

Taunting Dipper was fairly easy. "What? Do you not like that?" You said in a baby-voice. You reached up to flick his hat again, but Dipper caught your wrist and narrowed his eyebrows at you. The two of you butted foreheads and growled at one another. "Did you two lovebirds have enough of one another? Cause we're here!" Mabel shouted back to the two of you. Both of you backed away from one another, Dipper releasing your wrist rather roughly. The three of you approached your front door, "Well, I'll see you guys later." Mabel smiled and Dipper frowned at your farewell.

"See ya, cousin!"

"Stay away from us, please?"

The twins remained where they were, waiting for you to step inside safely. When you turned around, Mabel punched her brother in the arm. You twisted your doorknob, but the door didn't open. You sighed and knocked loudly, waiting for your mother or brother to let you inside. A few seconds later, a tall, brown eyed teenager who wore a tank top and sweatpants opened the door. His eyes bore into yours with tiredness and boredom.

"Hi Eli."

"Sup' nerd?" While you were use to seeing your brother, Eli, in person, the twins hadn't grown accustom to it. In fact, this was the first time they've ever seen your brother.

"You have a brother?!" "YOU HAVE A BROTHER?!" They both shouted.

You stepped to the side so the two of them could get a better view of Eli. "Yeah, um- Guys, meet Eli. My older brother." Eli looked down at the two, raising an eyebrow. His curly, brown locks shined in the light for he had recently taken a shower. His light brown skin also had some sort of reflect to it. Dipper was confused, but Mabel, oh man, Mabel was flabbergasted by your brother's appearance. It was one-sided love at first sight. Now she felt her brother's pain.

"....Are you single?"

Dipper slapped his own hand over Mabel's mouth before she said anything else. Now Eli raised both of his eyebrows. "Uhh- Ignore her!" You awkwardly chuckled as you delivered a light punch to Eli's arm.

_'Great! Now Mabel has a weird crush on my own brother!'_

"Hey-" Eli pointed at both of the siblings, "Aren't these the twins? Skipper and Fable?" He purposely said their names wrong so you glared at him, but he only continued to smile.

"IT'S MABEL! HA-HA! Wow, you have- You have a nice smile." Mabel held both her cheeks as she grew even more flustered. Dipper rolled his eyes and muttered as he took interest in the empty space off to his right. "And it's Dipper, by the way...." Eli placed a hand on your shoulder and leaned down to you. "Oohhhh, so **that's** Dipper-"

Uh oh.

Eli smirked at the male twin and continued to embarrass you. "You know, she complains about you **all** the time and-"

"OKAY- BYE GUYS!" You shoved your brother inside and slammed the door, trying to ignore the "hearts" in Mabel's eyes and the curiosity in Dipper's. 

It was later in the afternoon, and you were watching Eli, Lee, and Nate play some crazy fighting game. Eli sat on the floor with his back against the couch, Lee had his legs hanging off the arm rest of the couch, and Nate sat normally, he also let you wear his hat. The video game reminded you of Super Smash Brothers. Speaking of which, you were starting to miss some of the technology and food that you had access to back in your own world, but you were able to function happily here.....Were you ever going to be able to return home? How are your friends and family reacting to your "disappearance" back in the real-

"Yo' Mom! Where ya' heading?" Eli asked without taking his focus off of the screen.

"Die Eli!"

"Screw you Lee!"

Your mother sighed with aggravation. "I'm off to the county jail." You got up from the floor and stared at your mother, "What? Why?" You never realized that you were blocking the screen for Nate, who lightly pushed you aside with his sock covered foot while saying, "Hey! Move girl!" You followed your mother to the front door as she explained to you, "Stanford somehow got him, his niece and his nephew thrown in jail during some sort of "Family Bonding." I gotta bail em' out." She sounded tired, as if she was awaken from her nap by a desperate call from Stan to get him and his family out of- Oh, wait a minute. She grabbed the doorknob with one hand and clutched her purse with the other. "Hey-" You glanced up at your mother, your eyes matching hers. "You want to come with me? I'll need someone to rant to...."

"Okay!" 

Joanne drove down the street, the street lights were one of the few light sources you had at night. She gripped the steering wheel with one hand and propped her head against the other as she drove. You remained silent in the passenger seat.

_'Should I ask her? About Stan?'_

When you looked back at her you just realized that she was wearing her pajama dress still, but just threw a jacket over it. _'She didn't even bother to change....Yeah, I'm definitely related to her.' _You wished you were still wearing Nate's hat to hide your face. "So uh-"

Here we go...

"H-How'd you even meet Stan?"

A small smile graced her features as she reminisced about her past. "I meet him at the store during winter. I helped him buy a coat." She continued before you could even ask. "Then, a few weeks later, I ran into him again and helped him pay for food-"

"Why?" You interrupted her story. She smiled at you and shrugged, "Something just told me to. Anyways, in order to repay me, we agreed that he'd babysit you and your brother from time to time, usually when I was at work. And...That's about it...." She ended her explanation with a hint of heaviness in her voice.

_'That can't be it- During the memory in my dream, Stan held her hand. And on top of that- Stan blushed and tried to avoid talking about her! There has to be more...'_ Somehow, you gathered enough courage to spew out your next question. "Was there anything else going on between the two of you?"

The car screeched to a stop, jerking you and your mother forward. Your eyes widened and your heart dropped._ 'I shouldn't have asked-'_

"**WHAT DID YOU SAY?!**" Joanne angrily hollered at you, her hair was a bit messy from the harsh stop. "H-HEY! I'M JUST CURIOUS! BECAUSE- You know..." You quieted down as you trailed off, not knowing what to say anymore.

"**I-**"

Your mother sounded upset at first, but when she sighed all of her negative emotions away, she continued to reveal the truth. ".....Yeah....There _was_....He brought up the idea of being in a relationship together-" 

"A romantic one?"

"Yes, (Y/n), a romantic one..." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Hey, you had to make sure. She held onto the steering wheel with both hands now. "But I told him that he was too irresponsible and unpredictable for me, and that a relationship like that would never work....." 

"Oh...."

There was the end of **that** conversation, but at least you knew now. There **was** some sort of relationship being pursued in the past, but the feelings weren't reciprocated. You never would've guessed, every time you see Joanna and Stan together, they're calm and collected. They act as if they were childhood buddies. You were so lost in your thoughts that it took you a moment to actually acknowledge that the car was parked now. Mother and daughter. Both sitting in silence.

"Don't _ever_ fall in love with a Pines, (Y/n)." Your mother quietly spoke without looking at you. "So...You were in love with him once?"

"......Yes....But- My family always comes first." She leaned over and kissed your forehead, then stepped out of the car. The two of you entered the county jail with a few things to think about.


	14. S.S Cool Dude

“Wakey! Wakey! Lil’ Snakey!.....”

“Yo! Meat-Pie! Wake up!”

You opened your eyes, and without taking even a few seconds to realize, discovered you were face to face with Bill Cipher. “I think I prefer Snake instead of- **Meat-Pie?** Is that what you said?” Bill shook his hand at you. “Nevermind that!”

“Listen kid, does this place look familiar to you?” That’s when you took in your surroundings. You were sitting on **your **bed inside **your** room. Your **real** room. In the **r****eal world.** Your mouth was wide open in shock as you crawled around the semi-comfortable mattress to take in every single aspect of the room. Yep. You were back home, but why so soon? Sure, you were in Gravity Falls for a handful of days, but couldn't it have lasted longer? Why only stay for one, singular episode? And why is Bill here-In your house?!

“Easy kiddo, you’re not back in _your_ dimension. This is a dream. A figment of your imagination.” For some strange reason you let out a sigh of relief. You really did miss your own home, friends, and family, but something in the back of your mind just wanted you to stay. “Is that relief I hear? Harsh. Oh well, it won’t matter in the end anyways.” The geometric figure started to float away, heading to the bedroom door. “Huh?” You jumped off your bed and followed him. “What do you mean? Why won’t it matter?”

“Isn’t it obvious kid?” You shook your head. Bill smacked his-uh, face. “Your family and friends- back in your real dimension, they’re slowly forgetting about your existence!”

And there it is. That throbbing pain. An aching feeling in your chest. Right where your heart is. This pain-It just-_Emerged _as air got caught in your throat. Everything seemed to be frozen in time and felt one hundred times heavier.

“...What?”

“They’re all slowly forgetting you! All those memories of you are disappearing. **You** are fading from existence in the other realm.” Now it felt as if something was in your throat, making it hard to breathe. You felt dizzy from the new information you’ve received. Everything you’ve had, everyone you’ve known and loved, all the things you’ve lived for were disintegrating every minute you spent here. In this- this- **Cartoon**. A cartoon turned into a reality. “No...No, they can’t forget me!” Bill started to “check his nails” for dramatic effect. 

“They can. And they will.”

“NO! You’re a liar!”

He squinted his one eye at you. “Am I? Or can you not accept the truth?_ I _know that _you_ know I'm not the most honest-of-demons around, but I'm the only leverage you have when it comes to the state of your own reality.” The usual tone of your skin drained from your face. Without any kind of warning, you dropped to your knees and hugged yourself. Tears started to build up in your eyes. You felt like you wanted to throw up. Everything you’ve experienced and appreciated in this world- this dimension, felt **disgusting** in this moment. 

“There is some good news, however.” This caught your attention. “Time here passes differently there. I can’t explain it well, but all I can say is you don’t have to worry about your parents sending a search party for you.” When you spoke, your voice cracked horribly. “Is it because time passes differently or because they’re slowly forgetting about me?” How you said that without stuttering is beyond even Bill's understanding. The way Bill’s face shifted indicated that he was smirking in a way. “You could say that, yeah.” You tried to hold back a certain noise, a snort mixed with a sob. Doing so burned your nostrils badly for a few seconds.

“There’s a way for you to get back though-“

“How?! Tell me! How!”

“Geez! Calm down kid!” You felt like pulling your hair out of its roots. “How can I be **calm** at a time like this!”

“**Look**.”

A strong yellow wave of magic washed over the entire room. Everything it touched started to glow, everything except you, you remained normal. Bill Cipher lowered himself to your height, diminishing the feeling of dominance and bringing in a sense of equality. “As of now, there’s nothing you can do to get back **home**. All you can do **is** enjoy the time you have **here**, instead of worrying about a soon-to-be lost dimension, okay? Okay.”

_‘Enjoy my time?! Soon-to-be lost?! Huh?!’ _

He patted your shoulder twice, both taps sending a shock wave throughout the room. You lost your balance and stumbled around. Bill floated towards the door, never looking back, opening and slamming it without using his hands. You stood up straight and chased after him. “Hey! W-Wait up!” Except, when you opened the door, it lead right into another bedroom. Your bedroom,** again**, but it wasn’t the room from your real home, it was the one you currently slept in as you lived in Gravity Falls. “Huh?!” When you turned around, you had a full view of the hallway that lead to this room. This was the house you lived in, along with Joanne and Eli. You even looked down to see you were wearing your snake onesie.

_‘That wasn’t on before....’_

A fluttering feeling erupted in the pits of your stomach, and you started to feel light headed. “Wha- What is.....” You plummeted to the ground, chin hitting the carpet first, and passed out within a few short breaths.

“AH!”

“WOAH!”

You sat up as fast as you could, accidentally head butting your older brother, Eli. “HEY!” His voice cracked as he shouted. Now you frantically took in your new surroundings. You were on your bed, the blankets partially covering you, and you still had on that stupid onesie. What the heck is going on?! This room wasn’t the first one you woke up in when you were having that fever dream. You were safe, but still stuck in Gravity Falls. “S-Sorry!” You apologized quickly, remembering that Eli was still present. “What gives, sis? Did you have a nightmare or something?” You thought about the dream you just had.

_‘It’s...a lot to process but....’ _

“Yeah, kinda...Why are you in my room? It’s too early to be awake...”

“The two of us are gonna go chill with Soos today. Big guy said he’s going fishing and wants a crew to go with.” That’s when everything clicked. Soos? Fishing? **The second episode** of Gravity Falls was happening! “Today?”

“Um, yes. Today. Moron.” You ignored him and jumped off your bed. Today! It was happening today! “Heck yeah! Count me in!”

“Someone’s enthusiastic about fishing.”

“You could say that...” Although you were elated that the next episode was playing out as you danced around, you couldn’t shake away what Bill said to you. How was everyone forgetting you existed? How were you suppose to get back home? And what did he mean by soon-to-be lost? Even with all these questions in your mind, there wasn’t anything you **could** really think about doing to answer them. Granted, you could spoil the entire show for every character and ask for help to be returned back home, but you were pretty sure if you died here you would really be dead, and you’d like to know how future events would turn out just to ensure your safety. .....That and other reasons.....

Making a deal with Bill was another option, but you knew better than to do_ that._ All you could really think of doing was, ironically, listen to what Bill told you and just enjoy the time you had here, because there really wasn’t anything you could do _as of now...._

_Right?_

......Maybe a pathway of some sort would open up and lead you home?

“Come on (Y/n)! Let’s go!” Eli ran down the dock with quick haste and excitement. He’s like, fifteen or sixteen right? Why is he so excited about fishing? You still struggled way out on the shores, trying to get your life preserver on correctly. Once you heard a loud “Click!” you were somewhat sure you were secured. “Eli! Wait up!” The two of you approached Soos’ boat, to which the big guy himself was already on board. “Sup’ dudes! You two ready for some smooth sailing?”

“Hell yeah!” Eli shouted. “Dude. Dude. Not in front of the kid.” Soos finger gunned Eli, and your brother didn't hesitate to return the gesture. You walked, well more like waddled, up to the boat. Did you get the right size for this life vest or something? “It’s okay Soos, he swears in front of me all the time.” Eli pulled you close and ruffled the top of your head. “Yeah, I’m pretty much the greatest sibling ever. Isn’t that right (Y/n)?”

“Well-“ He trapped you in a choke-hold and tickled your sides. “HEY! AHH! HAHA!-“

“Say I’m the greatest or I’ll throw you in the lake!” Throw you in the lake? Doesn’t he know what the water would do to your hair? The water would either leave your hair soaked for the whole day, **or **bless it with tangles and kinks, **or** shrivel it up, **or** just do absolutely nothing to it at all. “OKAY! OKAY! You’re the greatest! Now let me go!” Your shouting attracted stares, but neither of you cared. Eli pushed you away and laughed as you adjusted your life vest, Soos joining in on the laughter. “You two are like, the coolest siblings I’ve ever met. Don’t tell Dipper and Mabel I said that though, ha-ha!” At the sound of Dipper’s name, your older brother spun faster than Mabel spazzing out on Smile Dip and gave you the most taunting smirk ever. “Don’t even say anything.” You harshly whispered as you boarded Soos’ boat. “What? I wasn’t going to say anything!” Eli innocently whined, but you rolled your eyes. You knew he was up to no good.

Given time, Soos had driven the boat deeper into the lake. The boat would slightly bounce as it sped through the water. Eli stood next to Soos as he steered the boat, but you remained off on the deck, leaning against the side of the wooden vessel. You took in your surroundings, staring into the water and out towards the forests. This place really was something else. “So Soos-“ Eli spoke up out of nowhere, “Why’s this puppy called the S.S. Cool Dude?”

“Because only cool dudes are allowed to ride it.” The two shared a laugh as they continued their conversation at a normal volume. _Cheesy_. You chuckled to yourself at the joke, but your mind started to drift elsewhere. _‘How can I get home? To my own dimension? Can I....Can I even go back?’_ You wanted to cry. You loved it here, you really did, but when you actually started thinking about what was really important to you, you just- You just had to go back. The tears from earlier returned with vengeance, but they had yet to fall. With a loud sigh, you placed your head in between your crossed arms, closing your eyes. _‘Maybe....Maybe that locked door is the way out of here...What if Bill...wants me to open that door because it leads to reality? It’s possible, but I shouldn’t assume just yet, only until I’m absolutely certain.’_ If the barricaded door in the mindscape really was the ticket out of here, should you even try to open it? With Bill Cipher constantly pressuring you to just unlock the door, it hints that if you did, he would somehow benefit from you opening it. So how can you-

“(Y/n)!”

You jumped from a voice, a boy’s voice, that was right next to you. “I’m (Y/n)!” You hollered, then immediately winced afterwards. Of course you’re (Y/n), they literally called you that! Turns out it was Eli, and he ranted on about how he had to call you _four times_ just so you'd notice he was there. “What gives? What’s wrong with you?” He asked. Even when you didn’t say anything for a sound minute, he patiently waited for any kind of answer. “....I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.” You shook your head. “I-I don’t wanna talk about it.” Eli decided to drop the subject, for now, but you appreciated that he cared. He could’ve ignored you and continued chatting with Soos, or he could’ve pestered you until he got an answer. But he didn’t. Eli watched you with a forlorn expression, one matching yours. He looked off into the distance, seeing a certain pair of kids, and a large grin appeared on his face. You felt Eli place his arm across your shoulders, drawing you closer. He shook you a bit to gain your attention.

“Hey now, everything will be alright. And besides, I know who could make you feel better.” You glanced up at him. “Who?”

“Your boyfriend.”

“My what?”

“You dudes say something about a monster hunt?”

Everything happened so fast, it took you two seconds to realize Soos had pulled the ship** back** to the docks and walked to the end of the boat to address the twins. _‘It’s happening. It’s happening!’ _Unconsciously, a smile grew on your face. _‘It’s happen-‘_

**Cough! Cough!** Eli jabbed his elbow into your side and you glared up at him. That’s why he said your “boyfriend” could cheer you up, because Dipper was here! That little-! Eli stuck his face really close to yours and mimicked your angry expression, but only to spite you. During your little confrontation with Eli, neither of you realized the two pairs of brown eyes that watched the both of you with interest.

“Eli’s here?!”

“(Y/n)’s here?!”

Both of the twins shouted, one with excitement and the other with terror. “Wait-WHAT?!” Stan shot up from the inside of his own boat and searched for your face. His eyes landed on you in mere seconds. “YOU! I invited you out to spend some quality time with me and the kids-“ You cringed as his declaration of betrayal continued, “-and instead of driving you here in blindfolds-“

“Wait, what?” Eli muttered.

“-you’re cooped up on Soos’ boat?!”

“Yup.” Soos answered for you, “I invited these two out for a nice relaxing day out on the lake, but I’m pretty sure they won’t mind a change of plans. Right guys?” Soos called out to the two of you, making you and Eli jump in shock. “Uh-Yeah! Sure! We don’t mind, do we (Y/n)?”

“If you keep this up I’ll throw you off the boat!”

“Go ahead. Unlike you, I don’t care if my hair gets wet.” He really wouldn’t care if his hair got wet, he always wore his curly locks in a "nappy-type" of fashion anyways. You lurched forward as the boat unexpectedly took off towards an island. Scuttlebutt Island, to be exact. The sound of Stan shouting "TRAITORS!" at the top of his lungs didn't go unnoticed. “Hey, hey, look who’s on board.” You pushed Eli away to see Dipper and Mabel standing on deck a few feet away. As the boat was steered towards Scuttlebutt Island, Dipper started shouting different commands. “Hoist the anchor! Raise the flag!” His sister joined in on the cheering. “We’re gonna find that Gobblewonker!”

“We’re gonna win that photo contest!”

“Do any of you dudes have sunscreen?” Soos shouted over the noise of shouts, waves, and the engine of the S.S. Cool Dude. “We’re gonna...go get sunscreen!” Dipper announced with false confidence. “Yay!” The boat turned back to the shores you all previously departed from. 

After the quick pit stop for sunscreen, you all were on your way to Scuttlebutt Island in search of the Gobblewonker. “What’s a-Gobblewonker?” Eli leaned closer just so only you could hear him. “It’s a monster of some sort.” You explained with your hands, “The twins over there wanna get a picture of it to win a contest.” Eli scoffed. “A picture of a monster? Yeah, okay. With what camera?” Dipper popped up right in between you and your brother, catching the both of you off guard. “I’m so glad you asked that Eli!”

“Uhh...Why?”

“Come on-Come on-Come on!” Dipper ushered the two of you over to where Mabel and Soos were already standing. Eli stood, arms crossed, next to Soos while you remained on the other side of the handy-man, also standing next to Mabel. Dipper paced back and forth in front of his assembly line of friends._ ‘I can’t believe this is actually going to happen! Again! But-‘_ You glanced over to Eli, ‘_I never thought he would be a part of it.’_

“Alright-" Everyone aboard diverted their attention to Dipper at the sound of his voice. “If we wanna win this contest, we've gotta do it right! Think. What's the number one problem with most monster hunts?” Soos spoke up first. “You're a side character, then you die within the first five minutes of the movie. Dude, am I a side character?! Do y'ever think about stuff like that?”

“I’m one hundred percent sure you’re not a side character.” You were quick to reassure him. Dipper shook his hands at both of you. “No, no, no. Camera trouble! Say Bigfoot shows up. Soos, be Bigfoot?” Soos struck a pose that was suppose to resemble Bigfoot, but to you and Eli, he looked ridiculous. Eli snorted at his stance, and he tried to suppress anymore laughter from rising. “There he is! Bigfoot!” Dipper announced with a mocking voice. He patted his life vest, pretending to search for a camera. “Uh-oh, no camera!” He whipped out a camera from his vest, “Oh, wait, here's one! Aw, no film!” His voice returned to normal, “You see? You see what I'm, doing here?” Soos nodded and looked down at you and Mabel. “Oh, yeah. Dude's got a point.”

Dipper walked over with a brown bag that held all of the disposable cameras he bought at the store. Instead of buying seventeen, like how he does in the original episode, he bought twenty-five. _‘Four for each of us. Wow.’ _Dipper made his way over, unintentionally separating everyone, you stood with Mabel and Soos stood with Eli. “That’s why I bought twenty-five disposable cameras! Two on my ankle, three in my jacket, four for each of you, three extras in this bag, and one... under my hat!” He passed out cameras to everyone and even pointed out the various places he’s hidden them. “There's no way we're gonna miss this. Okay everybody, let's test our cameras out!” Your face lit up and a large goofy smile appeared on your face. Remembering how the second episode went, you turned your gaze to Soos. He takes a picture of himself, the flash of the camera scaring him. “Aw, dude!” He flings the camera overboard. The sound of you and your sibling snorting continuously could be heard afterwards. Dipper chose to ignore the two of you, but Mabel was grinning at your guy's playful dynamic.

“You see? This is exactly why you need backup cameras. We still have twenty-four!” Dipper explained calmly._ ‘All of his certainty is going to disappear in a few seconds.’ _You smirked at the thought. A seagull swoops right above Mabel’s head, startling her. The first thing that came to her mind was to chuck one of her cameras at it. “Ah! Bird!” **Ploop! **The device slowly sunk to the bottom of the lake. Without thinking, you shouted out, “I feel like throwing a camera now!”

“Me too!” Eli swiftly joined in. “No! Don’t-“ Dipper pleaded as he pulled on his hat. The two of you threw a camera at one another, both of the small devices ramming into each other instead of the intended targets. The two cameras fell to the floorboards in a pile of broken pieces. “Haha-Yes!” Both you and your brother high-fived, feeling accomplished over nothing. How the two cameras perfectly smashed into one another? Just blame it on cartoon logic, cartoon-made-into-reality logic. Dipper actually growled as he stomped over to you, right when you were hovering a camera over the side of the boat. He grabbed your wrist and yanked it closer to him, so the camera would remain safe and sound. “Don’t do that!-“

“A-hem?” Eli towered right behind Dipper with his hands on his hips and an angry scowl. Dipper chuckled nervously and gently let go of your hand, every single finger lifting up at the same time. “I-I mean-Go ahead! Toss it overboard if you like?” You smirked at Dipper and made sure he looked you dead in the eyes as you effortlessly tossed the camera into the lake. “Twenty!” Dipper strained out, “We still have twenty cameras! Okay guys, I repeat-Don’t lose your cameras.” You watched as Soos threw two more cameras into the water, then he asked, “Wait, lose the cameras?”

“DON’T!”

“Dude, I just threw two away.” Soos answered as he pointed back at the floating cameras. Eli pointed to another pair of cameras that also drifted afloat. “Uh, so did I.”

“Sixteen! All right! We still have sixteen camera-“ During his frustration, Dipper accidentally crushes a camera with one quick punch. “Fifteen. We have fifteen cameras.”

“So what's the plan? Throw more cameras overboard or what?” Mabel teased. “NO! No. Okay. You, (Y/n), and Eli will be lookout, Soos can work the steering wheel, and I'll be captain.” Dipper pointed at himself when he declared he was captain. “How come little man here is calling all the shots again?” Eli questioned his thoughts and Dipper’s methods aloud. Dipper turned around and sent a pointed look to Eli, “Uh-Little man?”

“What? Why do you get to be captain? What about Mabel, huh?” She started chanting her name, “Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel! Ma-bel!”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Eli leaned against the boat. “And here he is coming up with** all **of our ideas....”

“Play nice Eli.” You muttered to him. “What about co-captain?” Mabel suggested. “There's no such thing as co-captain.” Dipper shot down her idea, until she threw a camera into the lake. “Aw-Whoops.”

“Okay, fine! You can be co-captain!” As you and Eli watched the interaction from the side, Soos raised his hand and stepped in. “Can I be associate co-captain?” Mabel was first to respond to his question. “As co-captain, I authorize that request.” Now Dipper intervened, “Well, as first co-captain, our number one order of business is to lure the monster out with this.” He gestured to the large barrel of fish food that Soos stood next to. You already knew what Soos was going to ask and do next. “Permission to taste some?”

“Granted.” Dipper eyes darted to **you** then back at Soos. _Weird_... Mabel decided to give Soos permission as well. “Permission co-granted.”

“Permission associate co-granted.” Soos ended the “granting," picked up a chunk of the bait and licked it. He choked and gagged as he tried wiping the taste away from his tongue. The twins laughed at him as Eli sent you a look, one as if he was about to roll his eyes. “Come on-“ you laughed, “You know you love hanging out with us!”

“.....Yeah, I can’t deny that.”


	15. The Legend of The Gobblewonker

“As of now, the boat is being steered into a foggy death trap, meaning we must be close to Scuttlebutt Island.” Dipper explained as he squinted to see through the mist. “Ha-Ha. Butt.” You immaturely joked, resulting with the twin glaring at you, then proceeding to walk away to the other side of the boat. Your eyes were glued to the back of Dipper’s head as you watched him walk away. _‘I never would have thought that I would be despised by one of the Gravity Falls characters....’ _

“I can’t believe I just** thought **that....”

“You’re trying too hard.” Eli made his way over to you, all while throwing bait into the lake. “I wasn’t talking about what I _said_, I was talking about what I- _thought!_” You explained....horribly. Eli squinted his eyes with confusion. “Uh-huh.....All I’m saying is that you’re not doing so well trying to appease this kid.” Your older brother tried sharing his advice with you, but it only led to even more confusion. “What are you even saying? That I’m unintentionally upsetting him because I can’t stop the stupid things that spew outta my mouth?”

“Yep!”

Lucky guess. 

He squatted down to your level and placed a hand on your shoulder. “You’re trying too hard to seem cool around him-“

“What?”

“-and it’s not working, at all! An unrequited crush is difficult at first, but you shouldn’t resort to the “I’m going to annoy the hell out of him until he likes me back” tactic.” Eli patted your shoulder twice and resumed with tossing the bait into the water. “I DON’T HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!” You angrily shouted. Eli laughed at your expense, just like a good sibling should.

“AH!” “HEY!” The two of you shouted and roughly fumbled forward as the boat came to a sudden stop. “See? We’re here!” Mabel called out from the front of the boat. Eli dropped all of the fish food he was carrying and ran towards the front of the boat. He grabbed onto the railing, standing in between the Pines Twins and shouted out, “Look at that!-“ He smirked at Mabel and said, “We’re definitely going to find something out here!” Mabel blushed and giggled, thrown for a loop that your brother was personally addressing her. Eli leaped over the railing of the boat and onto the shores of the island, his shouting echoing into the mist, “Last one off the boat gets punched by everyone!” Out of nowhere, you sprinted pass Dipper and swung your fist into his arm. As you climbed out the boat, Dipper tensed up in pain and clutched onto his arm momentarily. He pointed at Eli and hollered out, “H-HEY! He said **last one** off the boat!”

“I know Dipstick-I have ears too!”

Eli pushed you when you stood close to him on the sand. “Dipstick? So do you guys have cute nicknames for each other or....” Okay that’s it. You punched Eli in the stomach instead of responding to his previous comment. In return, your big brother smacks you in the back of the head, making you lurch forward. Okay-Now it’s on! Mabel and Dipper watched as the two of you smacked and shoved one another. Eventually it all came to an end when Eli lifted you up and plopped you over his shoulder. You pounded onto his back as Mabel brought up a question. 

“Do you guys always fight like this?”

“Yes.” “Yes.”

Eli dropped you onto the sand, only him and Dipper chuckling at the action. Speaking of Dipper, where’d he get that lantern from?

As of now, Dipper was leading the five of you deeper into the mysterious island, and Mabel is currently letting you in on her upcoming schemes. “When I get that hamster ball I’m gonna-“

“Let me guess, you’ll roll around town, impressing the boys?” Mabel squished both of your cheeks with her small hands pressed against your face. “Are you some kind of mind reader?” No, I just know your character really well. “Dude, check it out-“ Soos approached a sign that said “Scuttlebutt Island.” He covers the words “Scuttle” with his arm and reads the sign. “-Butt Island.” You and Eli laughed together and Mabel praised him. “Soos you rapscallion.”

Eli nudged you and whispered aloud, “It seems like your boyfriend is scared.” Dipper frowned and shouted, “I’m not scared!-“ Mabel poked his nose and blew a raspberry at the same time. “Yes you are!”

“Hey!-“ She continued to poke him while blowing raspberries until a low, grumbling noise shook the entire forest.   
"Dude, did you guys hear that?" Soos uttered with fear. Your brother took a few steps closer to you and whispered, "Hey, I don't think this is such a good idea after all..." Right after Eli had said that, a possum ran by, taking Dipper's lantern with it. "Our lantern!" Dipper gasped. "Aww! I can't see anything!"

"Dude-" Soos warily dragged out, "I dunno man, maybe this uh... Maybe this isn't worth it."

"Not worth it? Guys, imagine what would happen if we got that picture-" Eli glared at Dipper as his voice grew louder, "I'm not going to risk my sister's life just so you could get a stupid picture!" Now you decided to hop into the "conversation."

"Wait a minute! Wasn't it **you** who claimed that _neither_ of us would mind if we decided to go on this trip in the first place Eli?"

"I only said all that just to tease you about you know** who**!"

"OKAY! EVERYONE-**CALM DOWN**!" Mabel stepped in between everyone with her arms spread out. "Come on guys! This should be fun! .... Right?"

"It **would** be fun if so-and-so didn't tag along..."

Mabel elbowed her brother for his snarky comment, but Eli was already quick with another comeback. "Hey, it was you two who did the tagging along, not us. We shouldn't have wasted our time out here in the first place." Okay, you've had enough. "Let's go find this monster!" You shouted before running into the misty unknown. "(Y/n)! Wait!" Eli yelled and blindly followed you into the fog. The twins chased on shortly after, leaving Soos behind. "Alright dudes! I'm coming!" 

You all walked in a line, Dipper in the front, then you, then your brother, then Mabel, and lastly Soos. The last two were beat-boxing and rapping loudly to pass the time. Eli was sulking and frowning with his arms crossed. As for you, you were thinking of some apology for the preteen in front of you, since you knew your brother wouldn't do it. You watched as Dipper pulled out a camera from his vest, temporarily remembering that he was loaded with those things. "Hey, uh-Dipper?"

"What?" He muttered as he focused on his surroundings. "I just wanted to apologize for how Eli acted up back there-"

"Why are you even apologizing in the first place?"

Oh my-Shut up Eli!

"_Because_ I want to relieve at least _some_ of the tension, Eli!" You spun your head back to Dipper's back and continued, "Anyways, I just-"

"Guys, guys, guys! Do you hear something?" Dipper cut your apology short, not even bothering to hear you out. How awkward. How embarrassing. But these thoughts soon disappeared when a beast-like noise surrounded the five of you. Then, from a distance, a swarm of birds flew from the trees, as if they were flying away from something. You could hear and feel your heart beating faster, even though you knew what was in store. "This is it! This is it!" Dipper excitedly whispered, then continuously punched and received punches from his sister. You, Eli and Soos stayed glued at the hip, far behind them. Soos tried to whisper to Eli but you heard him anyways. "If you don't make it, Eli, can I tell Wendy that you've always loved her?" You could've sworn that Eli's neck would've snapped if he'd twisted it any faster. His face was flushed and his eyes were enormous. "D-Dude!" He stuttered.

Oh. Oh my gosh. OH MY GOSH-

"YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON-"

Eli slapped a hand over your mouth and scooped you up with the other. "S-Soos! Go somewhere! Okay?!" Soos picked up a sharp wooden stick and tilted his hat in an intimidating manner before walking in the same direction as the twins. You removed his hand from covering your mouth and jumped out of his arms. You pointed at him and he did the same to you. "You have a crush on Wendy!"

"I swear if you say anything-"

"So you don't deny it!"

"Even if I did you wouldn't believe me!"

"So you do have a crush on her?"

"M-Maybe? I dunno..." Eli gained a frustrated look in his eyes as he ran a hand through his curly hair. He leaned against a tree and covered his face with his hands. Maybe you could lift his spirits in some way? "....You know, Dipper has a crush on her too? Better watch out or he'll steal your girl." Laughter erupted from his lips as he slowly lifted his head up to look at you. "Yeah, he might steal her from me. Then I'll have to fight a twelve year old." He snorted out a chuckle, "I wouldn't stoop that low, by the way. I don't know anyone who would." You thought of the episode where Robbie and Dipper were going to actually fight over the redhead. "Oh, you'd be surprised-" The screams of Soos sounded off from afar, causing you and Eli to jump up and take off in the direction of the noise. 

"Turns out, it was just a beaver with a chainsaw!" Mabel explained to the two of you. "Huh. Who would've guessed." Eli muttered with his head tilted to the side. Soos continued to take several pictures of a beaver on a tree stump, a wide smile on his face. "Ooh, yeah! Work it! Work it! Nice! Nice! Gimme another one of those! Yeah, I like that one." Off in the water was Dipper sitting on a rock, he sighed, "What are we gonna say to Grunkle Stan? We ditched him over nothing..." He tossed a rock into the lake. "You were right Eli. We shouldn't have wasted our time over nothing..." Eli slumped his shoulders, "Kid. I'm sorry, I didn't-" Eli froze in his tracks and stared at everyone with wide eyes, "...Wait. Do you guys feel that?" 

The "rock" that Dipper was sitting on sinks into the water. "Hey, hey, whoa, whoa!" 

Only a small portion of the creature's body stuck out of the water, creating small waves as it moved. "This is it!" Dipper said with excitement as he stepped closer to get a picture of this mystery monster. "Come on! This is our chance!"

”What the...” your older brother muttered underneath his breathe. He stuck his arm out in front of you and started to back away, along with Soos and Mabel. "What's wrong with you guys?" Dipper raised a brow. Dipper had his back turned to the waters, and that's when the Gobblewonker decided to reveal its entire self. Its long neck stretched out into the skies and sharp teeth stuck out from its jaw.

"Dipper...."

"Dude..."

_'Oh! Oh. It's uh... It's actually alot creepier in person....'_ You thought, feeling your heart start to beat a little faster and your breathe getting stuck in your throat. 

"It's not that hard, alright? All you gotta do is point and shoot. Like this!" Dipper spun around and aimed his camera at the giant sea creature, immediately realizing what kind of situation you were all in right now. The Gobblewonker narrowed its glowing eyes and released a terrifying shriek to all of you. "RUN!" Soos shouted before taking off. Eli grabbed your hand and didn't hesitate to sprint in the opposite direction of the monster.

"ELI-"

"RUN (Y/N)!"

It was back. That fear mixed with adrenaline, with a touch of excitement. You've experienced this feeling back with the Gnome Beast. The terror and the thrill, all at once. Even though you knew what would happen next, it didn't stop you from reminding yourself that this is real, and that you could get seriously hurt..... Or worse. 

You were panting from being forced to run as fast as your brother, and it turns out Eli must be the offspring of a track-star or something. "YOU'RE RUNNING TOO FAST!" You shouted, his grip still around your hand. He didn't look back at you. "YOU'RE RUNNING TOO SLOW!" He called back. Before you could come up with something smart to say, he picked you up and swung you onto his back, holding onto your legs as he continued to run. 

You've decided to keep back any teasing or sarcastic comments so you could catch your breathe. "Get back to the boat! HURRY!" Soos screamed. You craned your neck to look back at the others, Eli's "super speed" was keeping him ahead of the pack. You watched as Soos lifted Mabel onto his back and Dipper with one of his hands. "Dude, if it makes you feel any better, I got tons of pictures of those beavers, dude!" He hollered to Dipper. "WHY WOULD THAT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!"

You also took note of the Gobblewonker stomping right behind you guys. 

"WHOA!" The sensation of being raised into the air hit you, the "lift feeling" in your throat and head. It didn't take long for you to notice that Eli has literally hopped onto the boat, and so did the others. "Let's get outta here dudes!" Soos backed the boat away from the shores of the island and sped off, but the Gobblewonker dove into the water to keep the chase alive. Eli lowered you off of his back and you stumbled around for a bit. He latched onto your arm so you could balance yourself. "You alright?" He shouted over the engine of the S.S. Cool Dude. "Y-Yeah!"

"Alright! This is it!" Dipper raised another portable camera to his eyes. "Cracked lens?!" His voice cracked. "Soos! Get a photo!" Eli frowned when he heard Dipper's shouting. "This kid's still trying to get a picture of this thing?!" Then Eli froze as he watched Soos start chucking cameras at the monster.** Away **from the steering wheel. "WHO'S DRIVING THIS THING?!" He shrieked, then sprinted towards the steering wheel, you right behind him. Eli clutched onto the steering wheel when the Gobblewonker raised and smacked its head into the water, tossing the boat with a violent wave. Everyone on board wobbled around until Eli spun the ship back on track. "Go! Go! Go!" Dipper pointed. Eli drove throughout the lake, trying to shake off the monster. "Eli! Beaver!" Dipper shouted and pointed to all the beavers sitting on piles of floating wood. "Dammit!" your brother shouted before crashing into what the twin previously pointed out. The beavers flew into the air on impact, landed in the boat, and started attacking both the ship and its crew. A beaver landed on your arm and started squeaking viciously. "GAAAH! GET IT OFF ME!"

"HEY!"

"I GOT IT!" Mabel ran to your side and tugged the beaver off of your arm, of course with a few failed attempts. "ONLY I CAN LATCH ONTO MY COUSIN'S ARM LIKE THAT!" She declared before hurling the beaver into the waters. You rubbed your arm and smiled at Mabel, "Thank you! ....I think?" You all sailed past the other citizens of Gravity Falls who were on their boats. The Gobblewonker quickly put an end to their evenings by knocking each and every boat over with a harsh wave. The Gobblewonker swung its head at the boat twice. The first one missing, but the second one-

"DUCK!" You shouted, and everyone followed your command. The top of the boat rips off, pieces of wood flying everywhere. "That was too close!" Eli huffed, keeping his focus on the lake ahead of him. You turned around to stare up at the monster in horror. _'To think, I'd never see anything like this back in the real world...'_

"LOOK OUT!" Mabel screamed, a little too late, since Eli drove right into a large piece of glass that was being hoisted in the air by two- Wait, why are they trying to carry that over the water anyways?! Eli ended up driving the boat into a narrow area, ending with rocks and a waterfall. "Where the hell do I go?!" He panicked yet continued to drive towards the waterfall. Dipper glanced around before whipping out the journal. In the mist of it all, you panicked and regrettably told him, "Head straight for the Falls! There's a cave behind it!" Everyone on board stared at you with wide eyes. "ALRIGHT?" Eli said confused, then sent the boat straight into the waterfall. Everyone screamed out in terror, believing you were wrong, but of course, you weren't. The boat ended up crashing inside the cave, and everyone on it flew off and onto the sand. You all picked yourselves up and tried to calm down, but the Gobblewonker was right on your heels. It shoved itself into the cave, instantly regretting its decision for half of its body remained stuck in the entrance.

"YES!"

"WOO-HOO!"

"LET'S GO!"

You all cheered. "It's stuck!" Mabel said as her brother laughed and raised his arms victoriously. "Wait. It's stuck?" Dipper realized and ran elsewhere to get a higher angle of the "Gobblewonker." Dipper reached into his vest to get out a camera, only to realize he didn't have one. He patted himself down and frantically searched for one. Until his sister raised his hat, revealing a camera on top of his head. You and Eli stood a few feet behind them, Eli had his arms crossed and watched the twin's current interaction. He leaned down towards you and whispered, "He didn't feel it on top of his head?" You punched his arm and giggled, watching Dipper excitedly hop around while taking pictures, then hugging his sister. "Did you get a good one?"

"They're all good ones!" The twins celebrated. _'And it's about to be short lived....' _You thought. And right on cue, a large rock fell and crushed the Gobblewonker's head, sparks shooting out of its face and the eyes losing their lighting. Its head plopped into the water with a mechanical splat. "What the?" Dipper said as he hopped onto the "monster" to investigate. "What's wrong?" Mabel shouted down to him as he knocked on the surface of the suppose "legend." When he knocked, it made a loud, echoing sound, as if it was hollow on the inside. Dipper began to climb up the Gobblewonker, "Careful dude!" Soos yelled out. "I've got this! Hold on!" He disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing and saying, "Hey guys! Come check this out!" Eli's brown eyes widened as he muttered out, "This kid's insane." When you all reached the top of the Gobblewonker, which was extremely cold, by the way, there was a handle. Dipper twisted it open and steam rose from the other side. You all coughed and swatted the steam away as you peered inside, seeing Old Man McGucket push buttons and pull levels frantically. The crazy old man noticed the five of you and spat out, "Aww, banjo polish!"

"Wait. Who is this?" Eli tilted his head and gestured his hand to the man. Looking at him in person was strange. His beard was really long, and his bones were all... scrawny and lanky. And what is that smell? Yuck! " Wha- Yo- You?! You made this? W-w-why?" Dipper stuttered out in shock. "Again. WHO IS THIS?!" Eli cried out, but you all ignored him. You were too busy actually **seeing** McGucket in person for the first time, and strangely..... It bothered you. A sense of dread and guilt washed over you, knowing what this man had lost in his past. McGucket cowered from all of your questioning gazes, "Well, I...I, uh...I just wanted attention." Eli drew closer to you and started to harshly whisper, cutting out everything McGucket was currently saying. _'Shut up Eli, I wanna hear this!'_

"So you're telling me, we came _all the way_ out here, risked our lives, just because some crazy dude claimed there was a monster?!" your brother ranted. You shushed him, and he punched you for it. "Shut up! I wanna hear this!"

"Hear what?!"

Your sibling argument ran short when McGucket began to cackle evilly. "Well, time to get back to work on my death ray! Any of you kids got a screwdriver?" Dipper and Mabel looked at each other with disappointment and shame. The male twin spoke first, "Well, so much for the photo contest."

"You still have one roll of film left."

Dipper looked at all of you, then asked, "What do you wanna do with it?" 

And here you all were, stopped right in front of Grunkle Stan's boat, preparing your apology. Dipper snapped a quick picture of Stan. " What the- Kids? I thought you were off playing "Spin the Bottle" with Soos!" Grunkle Stan- well, grumbled. "Yeah, we completely wasted our time." Eli tiredly said. "Well, we spent all day trying to find a "legendary" dinosaur." Dipper added and his sister continued the sentence, "But we realized, the only dinosaur we wanna hang out with is right here." She gestured to Grunkle Stan but he swatted at the air. "Save your sympathy! I've been having a great time withoutcha'! Makin' friends, talkin' to my reflection- I had a run-in with the lake police! Guess I gotta wear this ankle bracelet now, so that'll be fun." The S.S Cool Dude was slowly starting to sink, so now your socks were wet. Ew....

"So... I guess there isn't room in that boat for five more?" Dipper asked. Stan glared at all of you, especially you, for some reason. But when Dipper and Mabel put on the hats Stan made for them, his expression softened. "You knuckleheads ever seen me thread a hook with my eyes closed?" The use-to-be grumpy, old man questioned with raised eyebrows. Eli spat into the air, knowing Stan was obviously going to cheat somehow. "Five bucks says you can't do it!" Dipper egged on. "You're on!"

You, Soos and Eli all climbed into the boat as the twins and their great uncle pestered one another. You sat right next to Grunkle Stan and Eli sat down in front of you. "Whoa! What happened to your shirt?" Stan eyed Soos weirdly. Oh yeah, you forgot about that.

"Long story, dude."

You accidentally elbowed Grunkle Stan during your fit of laughter, and immediately apologized right afterwards. "Ah! I'm sorry Stan! Well- I'm sorry for elbowing you-AND! And abandoning you when I should've-" Stan smacked something on top of your head. You reached for it and took it off, bringing it at eye level. A hat! And look at that! Your name is stitched onto it with non-consistent colors! You smiled at Grunkle Stan and he grinned back, then you placed it back on. "Hey, where's my hat?" Eli sassed.

"You weren't invited."

Wow. Stan did** not **hesitate to say that. Dipper interrupted Eli's pouting as he held up a camera and said, "All right, everybody get together. Say fishing!" You all shouted "Fishing!" and smiled for the camera, well, except for Soos, only his bare stomach was in the shot as he asked, "Dude, am I in the frame?" 

The rest of the afternoon was spent placing bets, telling horrible jokes, stealing fish from other people's nets, getting in trouble with the lake police and Mabel telling pelican jokes. As of now, the boat was being steered away to nowhere in particular, everyone was just relaxing in the evening sun. The boat bounced randomly, and Dipper asked, "What was that?" His sister shrugged and the boat continued its journey, as if nothing happened. You being the Gravity Falls freak that you were knew exactly what had hit the bottom of the boat, but you didn't want to spoil that. You sighed with content, Your brother sleeping behind you with a smile on his face, and seated in front of you was Dipper leaning back with his legs crossed. You closed your eyes, the warmth of the sun making you sleepy. Dipper's chuckle caused you to open your eyes and look down at him, to your surprise, he was staring up at you with a small smile. "What?" You chuckled. 

“I actually don’t hate you right now. Isn’t that weird?”

“Is it weird that I was thinking the exact same thing?” The two of you shared a quiet laugh and slowly drifted off into a comfortable silence. Your laughter trailed off as you stared off into the water, but Dipper continued to stare at you. He stared for only a moment, noticing how the sunset reflected off your skin and in your eyes. You caught him staring at you and chuckled lightly, asking once again, "What?”

“N-Nothing!” He spins his head elsewhere, mentally scolding himself for observing such things. _'Change the subject!' _He thought. "A-Anyways, how did you know about that hidden cavern behind the falls?”

Uh oh. Quick-**LIE!**

“I uh... Lucky guess?”

“Hmm... I guess I can believe that.”


	16. Ten o'clock

Trying to sneak back into the house was a hassle in itself. Stan refused to get out of his car when it came to walking you to the front door. The Twins insisted on doing it instead, but the elderly man had already stomped on the gas to hightail it out of there. As of now, the two of you sat on the couch in the living room. Yes, the lights were off, but the both of you were far too lazy to actually get up and turn them on. “You think he’s scared of accidentally running into mom?” Your older sibling whispered, leaning closer to you. “Yeah, he’s definitely scared. Speaking of mom...” Right on cue, your mother walked into the dark living room, the TV being the providing light in the area. She scratched her scalp and grinned at the two of you. So much for sneaking back inside.... “Where were you two? You’ve been gone all day!” You answered first, making both Eli and your mother cringe from your response. “We went fishing with Grunkle Stan!”

“Stanford? Seriously?” Your mother groaned. Her eyes darted to the side, _twice_. They held an emotion that you couldn’t decipher. “....Did you at least have fun?” At least she stayed on topic, unlike someone.... You nodded. “Yeah!” Eli shrugged. “More or less.” He stood up from the couch and stretched. “It’s getting late. I’ll make sure she goes to bed. Goodnight mom, come on (Y/n).” You hopped off the couch and followed Eli upstairs. “Make sure I go to bed? What am I- Five?” Eli glared at you from the corner of his eyes, before completely coming to a stop in the hallway. “Eli? What’s-“

“Listen- We **cannot** tell anyone about what happened at the lake today, not even mom!” You blinked a few times until you rendered what he had said to you. You rolled your own eyes, “As if I’d tell her any of that! She wouldn’t really believe me now would she?” You both shared a quiet and short lived laugh. “So... What do we do? Just not- tell anyone at all?” He didn’t even know how to answer your question, it was pretty evident in his stressed out nature. He placed a hand on the door frame to his room, “We’ll just- **pretend** that this day _never_ happened! And that- there are- Many _NORMAL DAYS _ahead of us! A normal summer. Hopefully. ....Goodnight.” And with that, he closed the door, leaving you alone in the dark. 

“Where are **you **going?” Pestering. That’s exactly what you were doing right now. For what better way to start the day than with you being nosy. “Out.” Came his short reply. Obviously he didn’t want to go into detail, but you’ll make him talk eventually. You followed closely behind him down the stairs, already dressed for tagging along uninvited. “Are you going to go see your girlfriend?” Eli turned around, his cheeks a slight red, and an annoyed expression on his face. Even with him on the step **below **you he stood taller. “She’s **not **my girlfriend!”

“Now** you** know how **I** feel when you do it to me!” He blew a raspberry right into your face. You didn’t see it coming, but being the bickering siblings that you were, you should have. He jumped off the last step, the slamming noise echoing from downstairs. “Wherever you’re going or whoever you’re doing-“ He glared again. “-Can I come?” He shook his head and spread his arms out in a questioning manner. “Wha- Why?”

“Because I’m bored.” You honestly were. After Eli left you in the dark hallway last night, you spent all night staring at the ceiling, thinking about your reality and your real family. It kept leaving a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach and it hasn’t gone away._ ‘’Oh well, it won’t matter in the end anyways.” _Bill’s words reentered your mind, blocking out whatever Eli was saying to you. _“Your family and friends- back in your real dimension, they’re slowly forgetting about your existence!”_

_“They’re all slowly forgetting you! All those memories of you are disappearing. _ ** _You_ ** _ are fading from existence in the other realm.”_

_“As of now, there’s nothing you can do to get back _ ** _home_ ** _. All you can do _ ** _is_ ** _ enjoy the time you have _ ** _here_ ** _, instead of worrying about a soon-to-be lost dimension, okay? Okay.”_

_.....**Home**....**is**....._

“(Y/n)!”

You jumped from your older brother shouting down at you, his hand on the front door. Front door? How long did you even **space out** for? “Are you coming or not?” He had an impatient look on his face, waiting for you to answer. “Um.... Where are we going again?”

“.......Goodbye.” Eli stepped outside and slammed the door, only for you to reopen it and run after him. “Wait! Where are we going? Seriously!” Eli power walked away from you, speeding down the sidewalk. “I’m not going to repeat myself.” You finally caught up with him._ ‘He sure is fast.’_

“Please?” You begged. Maybe wherever you’re going will get your mind off of that triangular demon.... “We’re going to Thompson’s. To hang out with the others.” Thompson’s? Hang out? With the others? You’ve already seen Wendy, Lee and Nate, now you’ll get to see Thompson, Tambry, and Robbie! “Yeah I’ll go! Yes!” You couldn’t believe it. You were going to hang out with the teenagers!

“Stop smiling weirdo.”

“I can’t help it.” 

The two of you walked all the way to Thompson’s house, which wasn’t as far as you thought it would be. It took around fifteen minutes to get there. The two of you stood on the sidewalk, staring into the open garage. There in the garage were the burnouts of Gravity Falls, and you were going to assume that Eli was one of them. All their eyes landed on Eli.

“Eli!”

Your brother shrugged coolly and grinned, heading up the driveway. Nate and Lee came running to him first. When they reached Eli, Nate punched him lightly a few times in the arm, and Lee put him in a choke-hold. The others smiled and watched from the garage. Nate’s attention went from Eli to you, and he smiled. “Hey! Small-fry’s here!” With a skip in your step, you ran up to him, smiling in awe. Last time you saw Nate you were speechless due to him entering your house unexpectedly. He took his hat off and placed it on your head, smacking the top of it a few times. You giggled with glee, unable to hide your happiness from finally interacting with these set of “fictional” characters. “Hi Nate!- WHOA!” Very suddenly, you were lifted into the air with nothing to support your back, so you wobbled to and fro for a bit.

“SMALL-FRRRRRYYY!” Lee shouted and charged into the garage with you perched on his shoulders. Small-fry? First Nate, and now Lee. You’re guessing that your nickname whenever you’re around them is _Small-fry._ And Nate letting you wear his hat seems to be a reoccurring thing.

Once Lee placed you down in the garage, Wendy wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “I missed you little dude! It’s so boring whenever you’re not working at the Mystery Shack.” Wendy grinned down at you and held out a bowl of chips. “Chips?” You perked up and grabbed a handful of chips, stuffing them down your throat. The freckled redhead watched you in amusement, and tugged on your sleeve to guide you to sit on a- couch? “How’d a couch get in here? Last time I remembered-“ 

_“Thompson! Thompson! Thompson!” _

_There you all were. Sitting on top of tool boxes or a dirty blanket. The garage door was closed, but the windows allowed the evening sun to peek inside. All of you were surrounding Thompson, who was balancing a tower of crackers on his forehead. Everyone was there, Lee, Nate, Wendy, Tambry, Robbie, Eli...... and you. _

What? What was **that**? A memory? Because that didn’t happen while you were here.... “-Eli found it. In front of someone’s house, so we snatched it off the curb and brought it here.” Wendy looked up at Eli, “Great thinking Eli.” Eli grinned confidently and slightly puffed out his chest, running a hand through his hair. You smirked at your brother, preparing to tease him about his feelings for the teenage girl. His eyes landed on you and he immediately glared, knowing exactly what you were plotting. Before you could attempt to embarrass him, someone else roughly shoved your shoulder. With an already disappearing smile, you looked up at **Robbie,** who was leaning against the armrest of the couch. He didn’t look at you when he spoke, “Yeah, yeah, (Y/n) is here. Who cares. I certainly don’t.” He swiftly looked down at you, at first with no emotion. And you did the same. _‘Does.... Robbie not like me in this world? Does he think that me being the age that I am here, which is twelve, makes me a nuisance to the group of teens?’ _Before you could completely space out, Robbie smirked down, and for some reason, you smiled back. “Stop being so mean to (Y/n) man.” Wendy stood up for you. “She’s knows I didn’t mean it.” Robbie crossed his arms and leaned towards Wendy, whether consciously or not. He also flicked his dark hair for some _dramatic effect._ Holy crap, you almost forgot. Robbie **LIKES** Wendy. Just like how Eli **LIKES **Wendy. 

Uh oh. 

From the corner of your eye, you can see Eli tense up from that little interaction. Poor brother. Now he has to deal with Robbie **AND** Dipper? Dipper’s probably going to be an annoying nark and Robbie...... well, he’ll most likely be a huge jerk towards your brother, possibly _soiling_ their friendship. “Check it out! Thompson’s juggling a hammer!”

“Yeah! Thompson!”

A distraction. Exactly what you need right now.

Everyone was crowded around the couch, laughing and pushing each other while eating snacks. Thompson had gotten up and ran inside the house when his mother hollered for him. As for you, you were squished between Eli and Wendy who were sitting on the couch. Of course Robbie was sitting on the armrest, **right next **to Wendy. Nate and Lee were still fighting for the other armrest, right beside Eli. You remembered how someone had called Wendy's phone earlier, eventually making her beg just to stay with you guys. You faintly heard the person on the other line yell’ “-But you’re working overtime for this!” 

“Uh- (Y/n)?” Thompson poked his head back into the garage. All laughter and conversation died down. “Someone’s on the phone asking for you.”

“Me?”

The teenagers cooed in a teasing manner. Nate snatched his hat off of your head, an eyebrow raised at you, “What’s going on Small-fry? Got a boyfriend?” Lee chuckled after Nate interrogated you. “Leave her alone guys, she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Boys suck.” Wendy calmly stated as if it were fact. Eli scoffed, “Yeah, coming from the one who has like- Twenty exes-“ Wendy gasped and leaned over to punch Eli, but he caught her wrist before she could. “But seriously-“ Eli started up again, and you noticed how he hasn’t let go of Wendy’s wrist, “-She** does **have a boyfriend.”

“Really now?” Nate scooted closer to your brother, “Ooh! Who is it?”

“Ever heard of a kid named Dipper? He’s staying for the summer-“

You stomped out of the garage, but caught Wendy rolling her eyes at your bother’s attempt to embarrass you. Within a few feet, just in perfect view of the garage door was a small table with a telephone on it. You also took in the wallpaper of Thompson's house. Very homey. You picked up the phone, not use to the huge device, and spoke into it. “Hello?”

“(Y/n)! I need you to come to the Mystery Shack! Quick!” It was obviously Mabel on the other line. Why was she calling you? And** how **on Earth did she know you were at **Thompson’s house?! **“How did you know I was at **Thompson’s **house?”

“Who? Oh! I called **your** house first! But then your mom picked up and said, _“She’s not here, but I can give you her friend’s number, I’m pretty sure she’s at his house!”_ So she gave me this number and some **lady** picked up the phone and then some **guy** picked up the phone and now **YOU-**“

“**Mabel!**”

You had to stop her from frantically ranting. “Just tell me why you called in the first place!” You could hear someone else talking in the background, whoever it was prevented Mabel from answering your question. “She didn’t give me an answer yet! Sorry (Y/n), that was Dipper. He just asked if you were going to show up.” She whispered the next part into the phone, “_He really wants you to be there you know_-“

“GIVE ME THAT MABEL!”

You listened to the sounds of shouting and wrestling. On the other line, the Twins were fighting over the phone. Apparently Dipper won for he semi-shouted into the device, “I did NOT say I wanted you to go! I** never** said that!” Mabel shoved him aside and got ahold of the phone again, “(Y/n)! Come to the Mystery Shack! We’re having an opening for a Wax Figure Museum! I made a Wax Stan!” Oh **GEEZ.** It’s another episode! The **third one** to be exact! “The wax figures!” You excitedly said aloud, “Okay! I’ll- “ You turned your head to look back into the garage, seeing the cool kids cheering Thompson on for another ridiculous action. You’ve never actually interacted with these guys before, and you’ve already been with the Twins a couple of times..... And on top of that, you didn’t want to bail on them, you’re already having a great time as it is..... _‘How would I even get to the Mystery Shack? I don’t feel like walking.....’ _Maybe.... the Twins could go another day without seeing you? Heck, you know for a fact one of them can..... “....Actually Mabel, I already had plans for today.”

“What?” Disappointment. Clearly. “We can hang out another time, I promise! Bye!” Mabel sighed sadly into the phone, “Buh-Bye.” And before she could try to guilt trip you into coming, you hung up and ran back into the garage. 

“You didn’t wear your python onesie.”

“Not tonight, no.”

Perched on hammocks on an empty beach. No sign of life was present for miles to come. You couldn’t see him from being sunken into the fabrics of the swinging hammock, and he couldn’t see you, so you settled for staring at the clouds in the sky. “What was that? From earlier-“ Bill cut you off before you could continue. “It was a memory. Not a very important one, but still, a memory.” You nodded, even though you knew he wouldn’t see it. “I see....” Everything was silent, except for the sound of the waves hitting the shores. That was the only sound being made.... “Hey kid?”

“Bill?”

“The phone’s ringing.” 

You jumped and gasped as if you were slightly spooked from someone creeping up on you. For some weird reason, you weren’t even in your bedroom when you woke up. You were already downstairs in complete darkness, Eli and your mother fast asleep upstairs. There in front of you, was the phone. Ringing. Who’s calling your house in the middle of the night? Hesitantly, you answered it. Something told you to. “....Hello?”

“(Y/n)?” For once, Mabel wasn’t shouting. “Wait- Mabel? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?” She was quiet for a few seconds, thinking if calling you was a good idea. “I uh-...... Wax Stan got murdered.”

“......Goodnight Mabel.”

“No-No-No! Wait! He really was! Somehow when Grunkle Stan-“ Oh yeah. Wax Stan_ does _get murdered in this episode. But you thought you’d be informed of it tomorrow, not the very second it happened! Dammit, you were tired. And only_ one_ of your eyes felt.... heavy....

“-and I was wondering if you could get over here, quickly!”

“What?! Mabel it’s-“ You searched the room for the nearest clock.... You couldn’t find one, not in this darkness. “Whatever-o’-Clock and I’m trying to SLEEP. And how would I even get over there at this hour? I can’t just walk!”

“Can’t your mom bring you? The Mystery Shack is not that far from your house...” Mabel’s voice grew quieter, the regret in her tone was becoming obvious. Now she just felt bad for waking you up. And now_ you_ were feeling bad for making _her _feel bad. “I’ll see what I can do....” 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” Joanne, AKA your mother leaned over the steering wheel of her car with an angry scowl. You were in the back seat, scared that sitting in the passengers would give you the opportunity to feel her wrath up close and personal. “Now I _never_ _made_ you take me, I asked! You could’ve said no!” 

“If I said _no_ you would’ve kept asking!” She snapped back. Her hair was everywhere, and her night gown was bunched up underneath her jacket. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of dirt crunching underneath the tires of the car. You stared out the window, trying to get a glimpse of the forest at nigh- “Is your room clean?!” Joanne yelled out of nowhere. With confusion, you stuttered, “Uh- I um- N-No?” 

“Then when we get back!- **You clean it!**”

....Okay? Of all the things she could’ve scolded you for, at this time of hour, it was about a dirty room. Now you realized she was just spewing out her anger in spurts. You fiddled with the oversized jacket you were wearing. _‘At least I’m not wearing that onesie, that would be embarrassing....’ _

“We’re here.” She slowed to a stop in front of the Mystery Shack. An empty police car with its sirens on was already present. “Is this really that serious?” Your mother mumbled with squinted eyes, distracted by the lights. In a rush, you held open the door and stuck your legs out. “Okay! I’ll be back in a bit, I’ll see you-“ 

“Wait!” 

Joanne stepped out of her car and slammed the door. You did the same and ran to stand in front of her. “Mom- What are you-“ 

“I gotta see this for myself. To see if driving out here in the middle of the night was worth it.” She sternly spoke the last part, staring down at you with hard eyes, as if she was still deciding what your punishment should be for waking her up. You tossed your gaze to the ground, barely noticing she had fuzzy slippers on. You held back a laugh. “Come on.” You followed your mother who was already walking to the wide-open door. The two of you stepped into the living room, your mom in front, Stan’s voice was the only one that could be heard.

“I get up to use the john, right? And when I come back- Blammo’! He's headless!” Stan looks behind the two cops to see you and your mother approaching. “Joanne?!” He chokes out. “Stanford.” Your mother crossed her arms, addressing him with a dry tone in her voice. She looks down at the wax figure and sees that its head is missing. “....This is what you woke me up for?” She looks back at you, hand outstretched to the body. “Hey-“ Stan gathers her attention, “-This is a crime scene! So if **you** don’t care about **me** being murdered, then you could just leave!” He pointed to the door with bitterness in his eyes, one that only your mother could match. “I’m **only** here for **my** daughter.” She squinted her eyes, leering at Stan. You had already made your way next to Mabel, who sat on her knees in front of the wax figure. She stroked where it’s head should’ve been. “My expert handcrafting.... Besmirched. Besmirched!” She dragged out the second “Besmirched” and started to cry into her palms. You and Dipper placed a hand on Mabel’s shoulders. “Who would do something like this?” Dipper questioned. You knew who would do something like this. _You knew._ “I know right?” Now your mother joined in, a hand on her hip, “Who would want to do Old Stanford here in?” She said with a hidden double meaning. Stan seemed to catch on to what she said, “**Hey**!” Officer Durland spoke up first, “What’s your opinion, Sheriff Blubs?”

“Look, we’d love to help you folks, but let’s face the facts.... this case is unsolvable.” Sheriff Blubs took a sip of his coffee after explaining the situation. Everyone except for you and your mother shouted, “What?!” Stan pointed a finger at Sheriff Blubs, “You take that back Sheriff Blubs!" Dipper stepped forward, "You're kidding right? There must be evidence, motives. You know, I can help if you want." 

"He's really good!" His twin sister tried to vouch for him, "-He figured out who was eating our tin cans!" 

"All signs pointed to the goat." 

Now their Grunkle joined in, clearly desperate for some sort of justice for Wax Stan. "Yeah, yeah, let the boy help! He's gotta little brain up in his head." 

"Yes, yes-" Your mother hopped in, most likely to patronize Stan, "-Make your, what? Twelve-year-old nephew solve a crime, that's- That's very responsible Stan." 

"You know- If you're not here to support me in my time of mourning why are you even here?!" 

You would've been more upset with that condescending comment your mother made, but then you remembered she doesn't know these characters like you did. She didn’t understand that if anyone could crack this case, it was the Mystery Twins. Sheriff Blubs placed his hands on his hips and started patronizing Dipper, "Oooh! Would you look at what we got here! City boy thinks he's gonna solve a mystery with his fancy computer phone!" Officer Durland shouted into his hands, "City booy! City booooy!" Blubs shook his hips a bit while leaning towards Dipper, "You are adorable." 

"Adorable?" Dipper repeated confusingly. The two officers shared a laugh, making Dipper's shoulders tense and his face go red from irritation and embarrassment. You already felt bad from watching Dipper being taunted on a screen, but seeing it in person felt worse. "Look, P.J.'s, how about you leave the investigating to the grown-ups, okay?" Blubs explained, holding out a hand for Durland to smack. Just then, one of their walkie-talkies went off with a buzz, "Attention, all units. Steve is about to fit an entire cantaloupe in his mouth. Repeat, an entire cantaloupe!" Durland's face lifted, and he shouted, "It's a 23-16!"

“Let's move!" Blubs and Durland exchanged excited laughs as they ran out of the shack. "That's it!-" Dipper turned to his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder, "-Mabel, you and me-" Mabel brought her arm around your shoulder, pulling you in closer, "-And (Y/n)!" Dipper's eyes went from Mabel to you, and his mouth opened to say something, but then he looked at your mother from the corner of his eyes, immediately shutting up. "F-fine. Fine. She can come." His eyes darted from you, to the floorboards, then back to his sister, "-Together, we are going to find the jerk who did this, and get back that head. Then we'll see who's adorable." Right after he declared his plan, he sneezed. Like a kitten. This small noise easily lifted your spirits and made you smile. Mabel removed her arm from you and placed her hands on her cheeks, "Awe, you sneeze like a kitten!" She cooed, resulting with Dipper glaring at her. Joanne clapped to gather everyone's attention, specifically yours, "Well- If that's all that there is to it, then (Y/n) and I will be on our way-" 

"WAIT!" Mabel shouted too loudly for whatever-the-hell-o'clock it was. She ran in front of your mom and cupped her hands, displaying her best begging face. “Can she stay?" Joanne didn't say anything, but she did hold a stern expression, questioningly staring down at Mabel. Said preteen held onto her pouting face, and eventually, made your mother cave in with a sigh. She looked over to where you stood, right next to Dipper, the closest you've been near him without shouting. "....Is your bag here?" She tiredly dragged out with a lazy shrug. Stan answered for you, "It’s always here. Just in case she wants to run away and live with me." When your mother spoke, she gestured from Stan, and then herself. "Run away? To you? From me? I highly doubt that.“ You couldn’t tell if she was joking, being sarcastic, or just plain harsh. 

"YES!" Mabel cheered, for her _little_ _plan_ was starting to be put into motion. It may take a while, but if everything goes accordingly, it'll pay off in the long run. Once the confirmation was given from your mother, Dipper turned his head to you with shocked eyes. His brown orbs quickly changed to annoyance, and he crossed his arms and looked in another direction. His sister ran in between the two of you, throwing a hand around the both of you, bringing you and Dipper into a forced group hug. Your cheek touched her cheek, a warm feeling spreading through your face. Were you blushing? Probably. You placed one of your hands behind her back, returning the hug. Not a moment later, you felt Dipper's hand being placed over your own that rested on Mabel's back, but it didn't last. The mere second his hand made contact with yours, he retracted it and crossed his arms once more. You glanced up to see Joanne and Stan watch the small interaction with a smile, before turning to look at each other. Once they noticed each other’s gaze, still smiling, their content expressions disappeared and they both looked away. What is with those two? 

"Come on! We need a full nights rest if we're gonna find the murderer tomorrow!" Mabel spoke with excitement as she dragged her "cousin" and her brother upstairs with no warning. Wait- _Upstairs?!_ "Um- Mabel? I don't think I can sleep upstairs- I usually sleep on the couch-" 

"Yeah Mabel, let her sleep on the couch!" Dipper strained. You could faintly hear your mother and Stan talking, but you couldn't decipher what. _'A sleepover with Pine Tree **and **Shooting Star? This should be exciting...' _A voice echoed in the depths of your mind, making you shake your head. Once Shooting St- I mean, Mabel, brought you up to their room, she slammed the door shut. You and Dipper watched her before looking at each other in shock. 

"....Hi?" You greeted, for- some reason. Dipper scoffed and walked to his bed, getting under the covers and facing the wall to avoid making anymore eye contact with you. Mabel blew out the lantern and grabbed your hands, tugging you towards her bed. You immediately started to hesitate, "You wanna share your bed?!" 

"Yeah, why not? I don't mind, do you?" Her face screamed, _"If you say no I'll just guilt trip you into saying yes."_ Not only were you nervous about sharing a bed with Mabel, you were also pretty certain that she moved around in her sleep. So sharing a bed with her might not be so comfortable. She hopped onto her bed, it creaking slightly, and patted the empty space next to her. You glanced over to the un-moving lump that was on Dipper's bed. You knew he didn't approve of this, even in the dark you could tell. Slowly, but surely, you climbed onto her bed, moving over so you were lying in between Mabel and the wall. You stuck half of your face into your large sweater. It smelled like Eli. Mabel threw her blankets over the both of you, then settled down beside you in silence, a closed-lipped smile on her face. Both of you lied on your backs, not saying a word, and you were pretty sure Dipper was still awake too. _'This is awkward.' _You stopped yourself from sighing, scared that any kind of noise would set one of the twins off. You jumped slightly when Mabel flopped her body onto its side just to stare at you, and with a loud whisper, she asked, "Are you still awake?" Now remember, she asked you this while staring **directly** into your face. **Clearly** seeing your opened eyes. 

"....Yes." You answered. She scooted closer. "Doesn't Dipper sneeze like a kitten?" She started to giggle, making you quietly laugh as well. You nodded, "Yeah, the cops were right, that was pretty ador-"

"I'm not asleep- I can still hear you guys!" Dipper whispered harshly, not turning around to look at either of you. Both you and Mabel giggled once again from your side of the room. Mabel ignored her brother, who was obviously listening, and asked you a question that’s been swimming through her mind recently. "...What do you think about my brother?" 

.....What? You didn't know what to say, so you asked her the same thing. "What do you think about mine?" You both exchanged glances, and then erupted into quiet fits of laughter. Neither of you knew, but Dipper was cuddled underneath his covers, face burning and cheeks puffed out, annoyed that his sister and.... you, were talking so openly about him. With a huff, he squeezed his pillow and shut his eyes, trying to get some sleep. 

.....

**POMPFT!**

"HEY-"

You didn't order a rude awakening, but there above you was Dipper Pines, wearing a shirt, shorts, and socks. A pillow was in his hand as he stared down at you with no apparent emotion on his face. "Get up." Was all he said. You sat up, pushing yourself up to take in where you were. _'This isn't my house?.... Wait, no- You slept over remember? Where's Mabel?!' _The bed was empty, except for you, you were sprawled out on top of it, taking up majority of the bed._ 'She must've gotten up before you. Shocking.' _Then you remembered Dipper was still standing there, waiting for you. You glared up at him. "Did you hit me with a pillow?" You were answered with a smack to the face with said weapon, knocking you back. At first, he tried to hold back his laugh, but then he just let it all out. His laughter actually sounded, genuine. Which was nice, knowing how he could get around you, stubborn and closed off. He doubled over, still laughing, "Oh man, you should've seen your- OOF!" You didn't let him finish, for you had grabbed one of Mabel's pillows and swung it at his stomach, sending him back a few feet. He stumbled backwards until he caught his footing. Now it was your turn to laugh. After you've let it all out, you opened your eyes to see Dipper staring at you in a stunned silence. That's when all hell broke loose. He charged at you and brought his pillow down to the top of your head. 

“HEY!" You shouted, before swinging the pillow at his face and missing. He laughed triumphantly and ran out the room, pillow still in his hands. You grabbed an extra pillow, leaped off the bed, your feet making a loud "_thump_," and chased him down the hallway. You threw one of the pillows in your arms at him, hitting his back, he chuckled and stumbled a bit, but still maintained his run. He started to quickly go down the stairs, that's when you saw your chance. With you at the top of the stairs and him halfway down, you chucked the other pillow you had, making him fall on his stomach at the bottom of the stairs. Somehow, he landed on his own pillow, at least that softened his fall. You rushed downstairs, picking up the pillow you threw, and crouched down on top of him. You brought it down, smacking the top of his head, once, leaving the pillow there, claiming victory. 

''I win!” 

The both of you shared a laugh.... Until a flash went off in the corner of your eyes. The two of you looked over to see Mabel standing there with a camera. "Scrapbookortunity!" She yelled cheerfully. You both scrambled off of each other, leaving the pillows on the ground. Mabel approached the two of you with a teasing smirk, "Were you two actually- _Dare I say it?_\- getting along?" She gasped dramatically for no reason. "Mabel I- She wasn't- I was- You told me to wake her up!" Dipper fumbled with his words terribly, moving his hands as he spoke. "Yeah, but I didn't tell you to play a cute, little game of pillow fight! Now did I?'' She sent a patronizing grin towards her twin, his face scrunching up with distaste. You chuckled at their interaction, even though you couldn't sense the deeper meaning behind Mabel's taunts. Her head spun back and forth, her curls bouncing while doing so. "So you two CAN get along! There may be hope for you two yet!" 

Hope? 

"Hope? Wait- What?" Dipper, sounding really confused, shook his head and stared at Mabel, waiting for an explanation. But all Mabel did was pat his shoulder and raise her eyebrows three times, "I'll explain to you later, but as of now- BREAKFAST! WHO WANTS MABEL JUICE?" And with that, she took off into the kitchen. "Mabel Juice?" You stood there, intrigued. Of course, you weren't going to actually try it, for you knew what was in that stuff due to the show, but still wanted to at least see it with your own eyes. Before you could start following Mabel, Dipper walked past you, with a ticked-off frown, and disappeared from your sights. That's when you took in everything that happened. You giggled and silently screamed to yourself, hopping in place. Did you just **spend the night** at the Mystery Shack **again**? Did you **share a bed** with Mabel Pines? Did you actually have a moment of **peace**, and fun, with Dipper Pines? 

Yes. Yes you did.


	17. Headhunters

"Aren't you gonna help?!"

Sweat shined on your brother's forehead as you watched him and Stan struggle to carry a coffin out of the trunk of the old man’s car. The twins were just rushing out of the Mystery Shack when Stan started to speak up. “Hey, give us a hand with this coffin, will ya’? I'm doing a memorial service for Wax Stan. Something small, but classy.” Stan grunted as he dropped his end of the coffin, wiping his brow and leaving Eli to hold up the other side. He gave up and also dropped the coffin a few seconds later. Dipper rushed to your side first, “Sorry Grunkle Stan, but we’ve got a big break in the case!”

“Break in the case!” His sister echoed. “We're heading into town right now to interrogate the murderer.” Dipper explained to his great uncle as Mabel reached into his bag, taking out the axe. You took a step away from her. “We have an axe!” She cheered, “REE! REE! REE!” She mimicked the sound effect one would hear in a horror movie when the bad guy was approaching. Stan looked at you, as if you had something to say, which you didn’t at the moment. All you gave him was a shrug. “Hm, seems like the kind of thing a responsible parent wouldn't want you doing...” Stan pondered the situation for a moment. “Good thing I'm an uncle. Avenge me kids!” He placed one foot on the coffin and raised a fist in the air, his eyes crossing slightly. He shrieked loudly enough for his voice to echo into the forest. “**AVENGE MEEE!**” The twins nodded and took off, but before you could follow them, Stan called out to you, “Hey sleaze-ball-“ You stopped to look at him, he glared and pointed a finger at you, “Don’t think I forgot what you did last night. Bringing your _mother_ along? I’ll get you back for it, I swear-“

“OH-Kay! I’m gonna head out now!”

“Kid? Get back here! KID!” 

Yeah, you weren’t gonna hide in a dumpster. That’s what Mabel was doing as the three of you were planning on getting inside the local bar, the Skull Fracture. “Got the fake IDs?” Dipper whispered to Mabel, who handed both of you IDs that she clearly made herself. Somehow she got a picture of you, drew a short mustache onto your face, glued on some googly eyes and named you_ ‘Miss Couzinn, age 27.’_

Okay...

“How does this even work in the show...” You mumbled to yourself as the three of you approached the bouncer, holding out your _totally real_ IDs. Mabel did the talking, “We're here to interrogate Manly Dan the lumberjack for the murder of Wax Stan.” Mabel jingled her ID, Dipper looked as stiff as a board, and you were shaking your head in disbelief._ ‘It’s gonna work.’_

“Works for me.” The bouncer grumbled as he opened the door for you guys. The first thing you saw was a man getting punched in the jaw, a tooth flying out of his mouth on impact. **Great.** Then you took in how the bar was swarming with buff and very intimidating men. Mabel stepped over a body that was sprawled out on the floor. “He’s resting.” She reassured herself. You rolled your eyes at her innocence and spotted Manly Dan playing some type of arm wrestling machine. Dipper noticed you already making your way to the suspect, turning to Mabel one last time before leaving her on her own, “Alright, let’s just try to blend in, ok?”

“You got it, Dippingsauce!” His sister pointed at him and made herself right at home on an empty stool next to a large, bearded man. “Hey there fellow restaurant patron-“ she smacked his arm once, “Bap!” Making a noise to go with the gesture. He growled at her, the noise sounding like a feral animal. Meanwhile, you stood nearby and watched sweat drip down Manly Dan’s arms. Gross. He was larger and hairier than you thought he’d be. It’s kinda cool and a little bit scary seeing him in person. _‘Wonder if he knows me...’_

“Hey Manly Dan!” Said man stretched his neck to your direction, eyes and muscles strained as he shouted a greeting to you. “(Y/N)! HELLO.” He yelled at the machine, his strength keeping him from losing. _‘He **does** know me. Sweet.’ _

“Manly Dan. Just the guy I wanted to see.” Dipper approached, standing next to you, “Where were you last night?”

“Punchin' the clock.” Manly Dan responded, making Dipper retort to make sure he understood what Dan said, “You were at work.”

“No, I was punching that clock!” Manly Dan pointed to a broken clock that stood outside, you and Dipper turned around and stared at it through the window, “Ten o'clock, the time of the murder...” Dipper scratched his head as you smiled. Oh, how you loved reliving a show beyond it’s time. Dipper reached for the axe in his bag, holding it out for Dan to see, “So, I guess you’ve never seen **this **before?” Dan shouted towards Dipper, spit shooting out of his mouth. Gross. “Listen little girl-“

“Hey, actually I’m a-“

“I wouldn’t pick my teeth with that axe. It’s left handed! I only use my right hand- The MANLY HAND!” Dan proceeded to rip off the machine’s arm, then started beating the device with it to prove his point. “Oh wow.” You said as you watched with wide eyes- OH MY GOD, IT’S** TYLER.** “Get ‘im! Get ‘im!” The skinny man chanted and giggled from the sidelines as Manly Dan flaunted his strength. “Left handed...” Dipper pondered, then smacked your arm with the back of his hand, never once looking at you, ”Come on. I’m on to something here.” He started to run towards the door, pausing at Mabel who was playing some sort of origami game that’ll predict one’s future. “Mabel! Big break in the case!” Without a word, Mabel hopped off the stool and caught up to the two of you, leaving the bearded biker alone. All you could hear as the three of you left was the man shout out to Mabel, “But will she love me?!” Okay, it caused you to smile when you first watched the episode and it caused you to smile now. Dipper took out a small notebook and stared at a list of names as he walked down the sidewalk. The notebook was a list of all the suspects who could’ve murdered Wax Stan. “It’s a left handed axe-“ he explained, “These are all our suspects. Manly Dan is right handed.” His name was also the first one on the list. Dipper proceeded to cross out a box next to Manly Dan’s name that indicates he was right handed. Oh, wait, he’s still talking. “That means all we gotta do is find our left handed suspect and we've got our killer.”

“Oh man! We are on fire today! Pa-zow! Pa-zow! Pa-zow!” Mabel hollered excitedly, shooting the air with finger guns. Dipper stared at his sister with the same energy, “Let’s find that murderer!” He exclaimed. That’s something you don’t want to hear out of a twelve-year-old's mouth. The siblings fist bumped one another and took off, leaving you behind. You weren’t even mad, you couldn’t blame them for being this happy- “Come on- Let’s GO!” Mabel ran back up to you and grabbed the sleeve of your shirt, tugging you into a run alongside her.

The three of you went around town, going through the list of suspects. Old Man McGucket was one of them, but he had a baby alligator gnawing at his left hand, so that got him off the list. One of the suspects had broken both his arms, so that put him in the clear as well. Right now, Mabel ran circles around you, singing a jumble of nonsense as you smiled and watched. Dipper flipped through the list, and then gasped aloud, “Guys, there’s only one person left on this list!” Mabel held a finger to her chin and scanned the paper, “Of course! It all adds up!” Dipper stood triumphantly, obviously proud that he’s solved the mystery. He sent a mocking smirk your way, I mean, you weren’t **that** far away, in fact you stood right next to him. “Not bad for a nerd like me, huh?” He said with a hint of sass. You scoffed, and smacked his hat down, blocking his view to make sure he didn’t see your smile, “Sure.” Was all you said. “Wha-Hey!” He lifted his hat back up and stared at you with annoyance. “Will you _stop_ that?!” Luckily, before the situation could escalate, Mabel squeezed between the two of you and wrapped her arms around the both of ya', “Come on guys- We got a mystery to solve! Woo-Woo!” She took off, Dipper trailing right behind her, and it didn’t take long for you to start up a jog to keep up. 

Then they froze. **They froze. **Right in place, making you run past them by accident. “Whoa!” You stumbled to a harsh stop, staring in shock and fear as the world turned gray. The people, the buildings, everything except you had its color drained away, leaving a lifeless, black, white and gray husk. You approached the twins, their figures stuck in mid-run. “Guys?” You waved a hand in front of Mabel’s face. _Nothing happened._ She was still in her colorless, frozen state. Oh no. This is bad. This is just like the time Gideon first summoned Bill Cipher in the show! What if it stays like this? What if you’re cursed to roam the world in this state? What if-!

“Hello there, my dear python! My sneaky serpent! My snake in the grass-“

You spun around and there he was, floating above you. “What do you want Bill?!” 

“Geez! Cool your jets kid, I just decided to pop by and tell you that you should head back to the Mystery Shack.” Head back? _For what?_ “For what?” You lowered your hands that you had held up. Bill chuckled and snapped his fingers, the world slowly regaining its colors. “Oh you know. That **poor **Eli kid. He seems to need your help.”

Eli.

**Eli. **

”What did you do to him? BILL-“ He phased away right when you charged at him, making you go right through the area where the demon once floated. The world started to fill with colors and move once again, and the twins, who were now ahead of you, turned around to see you with your back facing them. Mabel jogged halfway up to you, “What’s wrong cou-“ You spun around, trying to hide the panic in your eyes. You couldn’t tell them. They didn’t even know who Bill Cipher was! You smiled, but it was obviously fake, and started to back away, “I’m okay Mabel! I’m just- I’m going back to the shack alright?” Now Dipper took a few steps forward and squinted his eyes, “Are you serious? We’re about to corner the murderer and you’re bailing at the very last minute?” Well when he puts it like that, it just makes you feel like the group coward. _Unreliable_. And you didn’t want to be known as _that_. You started to walk away from Dipper and Mabel, “I know! And I’m sorry, but I just think they’ll need an extra hand with the funeral and everything.” You ran down the sidewalk and towards the forest, the setting sun illuminating the scenery. “You guys already got it covered though, right?” You shouted before turning a corner. Dipper rolled his eyes and scoffed, crossing his arms, “Typical. Come on Mabel.” 

He was fine. Everything was fine. Eli stood outside the Mystery Shack, even though there was a couch right beside him. The darkness hid your approaching figure until you got closer to the building. Eli squinted his eyes as he watched you run up to him. “(Y/n)!” He shouted and trotted down the steps, waiting for you to come up to him. 

“Get over here, Stan is still freaking out about that stupid wax figure, and I think if anyone could calm him down it’s you.” You panted and squatted down, completely out of breath from running through a dark and terrifying forest. When the lights are out_** outside**_, the imagination can run wild. 

“I dunno, he’s still mad at me for bringing mom along last night.” Eli rolled his eyes and raised his hands in an aggravated motion, “Who cares? Just come on! We’re setting up the funeral right now, and we could use a hand.” You both stepped inside the Shack, and your brother complained all the way to the “funeral room.” “I can’t believe the old man’s doing all of this for a **wax figure** of all things...”

“Maybe Wax Stan brings back some repressed memories? Or it reminds him of someone he misses?” Wow. You were laying it on pretty thickly. You knew why Stan was doing all of this, but that would be revealed a few months from now. Eli scoffed at your attempt to defend Stan. “Or **maybe** he’s lost it.” The curly haired teen mumbled. “Maybe he has...” You sighed and looked off to the side. You still felt bad for abandoning the twins like that. For once, you all were coexisting in peace, searching the town for the culprit without any troubles. But then Bill showed up and gave you false information about your brother being in danger and everything. How fun.

Eli led you into the room. The only light sources were coming from two electronic candles and the fireplace. At the edge of the room was a coffin, and inside it was a headless Wax Stan. There were several chairs for the audience, and majority of the chairs were already occupied with a wax figure. **The wax figures**. You know, the ones that are cursed and come alive whenever the moon was waxing? The ones that attack the twins for figuring out they were the ones who murdered Wax Stan. You shivered. _‘Like hell you were going in there.’_ Eli’s loud sigh distracted you for a moment as he entered the room with no problem, you on the other hand, stood rooted in the doorway. Eli noticed this, “Um. Come on?” He tilted his head, gesturing for you to come into the room. Your hands were shaking. _Why are your hands shaking?! _You glanced at Wax Sherlock Holmes, who was seated right next to the door. The light from the fireplace reflected against his lifeless eyes. He had Wax Stan’s head in his jacket somehow, you remembered it from the show. With a gulp, you entered the room, rushing to your brother’s side, who was standing in front of the coffin and staring down at the “corpse” with an unamused face. _‘Our backs are facing the figures, they could attack at any moment-‘. _Eli immediately noticed your nervousness. “Are you_ scared _of a few statues, sis?” He teased. At least teasing you will entertain him for a short while. “N-No. I’m fine.” And for some _stupid _reason your eyes decided it would be a smart idea to glance at Sherlock Holmes ONCE AGAIN. It’s like you want him to end you. “So. Did you guys find out who the murderer was?” That very question made the air itself grow tense. It’s like you could feel all the wax figure's eyes and ears watching, _listening_. Waiting for you to say something. To** slip**. “Uh- Yeah. We did. Apparently.” You answered quickly and quietly, hoping the figures wouldn’t hear you. Your brother looked down at you in confusion, “Apparently? Either you _did_ or you didn’t-“

“We did! We did.” You lowered your voice after your first outburst. You really need to work on being calm in certain situations, this attitude isn’t gonna fly if you were planning on joining the Pines twins on their adventures._ ‘I took on a Gnome monster for crying out loud! You got this!’ _With some newfound confidence, you grabbed your brother's sleeve and brought him closer to you, making sure the cursed statues couldn’t hear you. “Actually, they **thought** they found the murderer, but I don’t think it’s who they suspect it is...”

“Why are you whisper-“

You shushed him, and continued, “Just trust me!” Eli stared at you in silence, his eyes wide with suspicion, then he finally whispered back, “Who do you think it is?” Here we go. Your eyes darted to the direction where the wax figures seated, making Eli’s breath get caught in his throat. Did he catch on to what you were gonna say? Before he could say anything, the sound of the door slamming shut echoed through the room, making both of you jump in place. The **wax **figure, **Sherlock Holmes**, had his hand sprawled out on the door, and was standing up like a _human would_. “It seems like you’re too smart for your own good, girl.” He spoke, his British accent coming out strongly. He shot his head up and glared specifically at you, making Eli push you behind him. Your older sibling began to sweat, “No way. No _freakin' _way.” The other wax figures started to come to life, Wax Larry King, Wax Coolio, Wax-

Eli grabbed your hand and spun his head to you, “How did you- how did you_ know_?” He asked in a very panicked voice. _'I knew because in** my** universe this is all a cartoon show!'_ But you couldn't say that. The wax figures surrounded the two of you, and Sherlock cut through the crowd. “Yes, how **did **you know?” He held up his magnifying glass and stared down at your face. You held onto your brother's hand even harder and gritted your teeth. Your hands were shaking again. Some small voice in your head said, _‘Hey, if you’re gonna flaunt your knowledge of the ‘future,’ might as well do it in style.’ _You smirked up at Sherlock Holmes, even though your grin was a bit wobbly and uncertain, “Don’t ask **how** I know, ask **what **I know. For instance- I know Stan’s head is in your jacket!” The other statues collectively gasped, and muttered among one another. One of the figures that was suppose to be someone from “the olden times” proclaimed, “Witchcraft!” Sherlock’s eyes narrowed as he took out Stan’s head from the inside of his cloak. Eli nudged you and shook his head in disbelief, his mouth agape and his eyes wide, “How?!” Sherlock Holmes inspected the head in his hand, “Clever girl.” His eyes shifted to you, “In fact, you're_ too _clever. Get rid of them.”

Wait a minute.

"Wait, what?” 

“**GAH-!**” You both screamed aloud as Sherlock’s army grabbed you and your brother. 

You weren’t hurt, and neither was he. You and Eli were tied together in chairs, back to back. Thick pieces of rope tied the both of you together. How the wax figures captured and brought you to the very room they were trapped in without alerting anyone was beyond you. A bandana- or cloth, or _something_, was wrapped around yours and Eli’s mouths. The ropes around your arms, torso, and legs were too tight to escape from. Trust me, you and your sibling tried to fidget out of your binds, but nothing worked. You both gave up long ago. The room had no light, except for a window up high that Eli was facing. The night was all he could see. You had lost track of time, was the funeral happening right now? Were the twins fighting off the cursed pieces of-

Eli suddenly started to squirm and strain in his seat, mumbling to himself as he did so. His words were muffled from his mouth being covered. What was he doing? Did he figure a way out or was he just frustrated from being locked away? Then he gasped. **He gasped**. Eli panted for a few seconds before speaking, but not too loudly. “Finally! I got that crap off.” How. How?! You tried to turn your neck and started to talk, but it came out as a jumble of mumbled mess. “Hey- Hey! Relax. You’re fine! We’re- We’re fine...” Eli reassured you, making your movements come to a stop. You just wanted to know how he got that fabric off his mouth. Then the room grew silent, except for the noise of you and him breathing. How are you going to explain to him how you knew it was the wax figures? You shouldn’t have shown off! Instead of acting cool and smart, you should’ve led you and your brother to safety. “...How did you know that it was the wax figures?....” He shifted his head, his brown curls becoming visible in the corner of your eyes due to the moonlight coming from a conveniently placed window. His face expression made him appear exhausted. Geez, it was only his second crazy adventure with the twins, relax Eli, there’s more to come. His sigh, besides the creaking of wood from the distant rooms, fell onto your ears. “This is the _second_ crazy thing to happen to us ever since you started hanging out with those twins.” Oh no. Is he gonna pull some over protective move saying how he doesn’t want you to be anywhere near them anymore? I mean, even if he did say that, you wouldn’t listen.

And as if he read your thoughts, “Look, I’m not gonna be some jerk and tell you _not_ to hang out with them.” He sighed and mumbled, “-Like you’d even listen to me...”. You chuckled, even though it didn’t go completely through the fabric around your mouth. “Just- be careful, okay? Last thing I need is you getting hurt...” Okay now you felt terrible. He sounded so concerned and defeated, and again, your brain reminded you of how terrible of a person you are because you could’ve prevented this from happening. 

You could’ve- You... You could’ve....

_**Creak.**_

“Hey, hey (Y/n), wake up.” 

At some point in time, you both had fallen asleep in your constraints. Eli was awoken by the morning rays hitting his eyes and the sound of police sirens. You both stared at the door in anticipation, one more nervous than the other. _‘It couldn’t be one of the wax figures, it couldn’t. The twins took care of them.’_ The door slowly slid open, and your breathing stopped all together.

“Here’s- Mabel!”

You tried to call her name out, but your mouth was preoccupied with that stupid cloth. Eli spoke for you, “Mabel? Mabel! I’m so glad to see you kid!” The twin smiled widely, her braces on full display and an axe in her hands. She ran up to your trapped forms and raised the axe, as if she was ready to swing it, “Don’t worry! I’ll get you out!”

Oh crap- SHE WAS GONNA SWING-

Both you and your brother started shouting for her to stop, well, he shouted, you were grunting loudly. “WAIT- Wait! Can’t you just, get a pocket knife or something?” She lowered the axe with a grin, “Oh yeah. One second.” She skipped out of the room, leaving the door wide open. Your brother sighed with relief and his head drooped forward. A voice could be heard down the hallway, obviously they were trying to be quiet, but Mabel wasn’t catching on, “They’re in there!” Whoever she was talking to groaned and walked to the room, their footsteps growing louder. Eli kept his eyes on the open door, and soon enough, Dipper poked his head into the room, eyes landing on you and your brother tied together. “Hey look. It’s the other one.” Eli said quietly, with a hint of embarrassment. Were two kids really going to save him right now? Dipper stepped inside, getting closer with a shocked expression. “What- What happened?” He scratched his head, and his eyes continuously went from you to Eli. Eli fumbled in his chair angrily, “Those_ damn_ wax guys tied us up and locked us in here! All because **_big brains_** here figured out that **they** were the ones who “murdered” Wax Stan!” Eli spat out, deciding to gaze out the window at the end of his complaints. He couldn't wait to get out of here and stare at a wall for a few hours. Dipper was standing in front of Eli, but once your brother told him it was you who figured out the real culprits, he walked around and stood in front of you. This was weird.

_Can someone remove this stupid gag?! _

Dipper stared down at you, with obvious surprise and hidden wonder. How did you know? First Norman, the waterfall, and now _this?_ “Wow.” Dipper whispered to himself. Okay, now his stomach is swelling with nervousness. Why was he nervous? For what?! He reached up and untied the fabric that covered your mouth, freeing you from silent prison. Before you could thank him, he sent you a small smile, and shrugged his shoulders as he told you, “I decapitated Larry King.”

“...” Eli scrunched his face together, clearly thrown for a loop. You on the other hand, had to laugh.


	18. The Hand That Rocks The Mabel

It feels like it was only four days ago when you were kidnapped and held hostage by cursed wax figures. Oh wait a minute- That _was _four days ago! “Hey.” A shopping cart bumped into your back, the person pushing it purposely making it hit you. “Move your butt.” Eli rasped out, his hood on his head. Random curls were sticking out of the hood, _his hair cannot be contained_. You kicked the shopping cart,_ hard_, making Eli step away from it and charge at you. You laughed and ran away, running into one of the nearby aisles. 

It was a quiet afternoon, and you and your brother had to go grocery shopping. Your mom, Joanne, left a list on the refrigerator before heading to work this morning. Shopping for groceries was a nice change of pace for the both of you. Eli definitely needed the break, he was exhausted and anyone could easily see it on his features. He steered the cart into the aisle you were standing in. You ran up to him, speaking at an appropriate volume, “Besides the sea monster and the evil wax figures-“ You hopped onto the edge of the shopping cart, making your brother momentarily lose control. “-There’s more crazy things that’ll happen this summer!” Eli raised a brow, his tired expression never changing, “And you’re certain of this because?”

Now here's why you brought that up. Ever since your kidnapping you've been debating with yourself if you should tell Eli **everything**. About travelling from another dimension and what-not. Heck, you might as well even spill how this is all just a cartoon show! But you worry about how he'll take in all that information... Will he point and laugh at your face? Or will he lose his mind as he realizes his entire reality is all a lie?

Should you tell him? Everything?

Even if he’s not your “brother,” you felt a small pile of guilt build up in the back of your mind whenever you pretended everything was fine. “...I just- know.”

“Right. Get off the cart idiot. I’m shopping here.”

You watched him slowly trudge away, arms crossed as he leaned on the cart handle, pushing it wherever he pleased. Should you say it? So far, it seems that your brother would be a main part of these adventures you'll soon experience here in Gravity Falls. I mean, he was there when you all went to Scuttlebutt Island and was there when the wax figures came to life. 

Out of the** three **episodes that have played out so far, he was a "main character" for **two**. "Eli... I have to- tell you something-"

"Did you get the bread?"

"Huh?"

"The bread. Where is it?"

Oh.

“Come on, come on. The sooner we get home the better.”

“You’re just walking too fast, Eli!” You tried power walking up to your brother’s side down the sidewalk, one grocery bag in each hand. You know, this would be so much easier if you had a car or some means of transportation. But since you didn’t, you and your brother were forced to walk home with the groceries in hand. “By the way, what were you trying to tell me back there in the store?” Eli gazed down at you as he continued to walk ahead. Oh. “It was nothing. Really.” The life changing news can wait,_ its not like it's really important or anything_. Besides, it would be more appropriate to explain everything in a more secluded area. Spilling out secrets of the universe in a grocery store wasn’t really ideal. You were suddenly interrupted by a couple walking around the corner, the duo almost running into the both of you on the sidewalk. Wait a minute- OH MY GOSH- THAT’S MABEL AND GIDEON GLEEFUL.

“No way.”

Both of the grocery bags you were holding slipped out of your hands and plopped onto the ground. All four of you stood there, staring silently at one another. The silence ended with your brother speaking up first, “Mabel?” Mabel flushed as your brother said her name and as** you** noticed how Gideon was holding onto her wrist._ ‘It’s like he’s dragging her around or something. Yikes.’_ You looked away from their hands and stared directly at Gideon. You couldn't believe it. _It’s Gideon. _You finally got to see him! Sadly.

“Gideon?!” You gasped, refusing to stop staring at his huge hair. Mabel shouted out in a hasty alarm as she snatched her hand away from Gideon’s grasp. Said boy’s eyes widened in confusion at the act. Mabel grinned nervously at you and Eli, as if she’s been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to do, “Hey (Y/n)! And- Eli.”

“You two on a date?” Geez, Eli. Just go straight to the point, why don’t you? Gideon smiled cheekily and proudly, “Why, ye-“

“NO! I mean- uh-“ Mabel cut Gideon off with an anxious holler, then trailed off, trying to find an excuse of any kind. Eli stared down at Gideon for two long seconds, then a smirk started to grow on his face as he snorted with laughter. He pointed at you with a large grin, “Isn’t this the kid you were laughing at nonstop this morning- OW! Hey!” You stomped on your sibling's foot to shut him up. It was true though, a commercial for the Tent of Telepathy came on your television this morning, and you couldn’t stop the barrels of laughter that spilled from your mouth. If Gideon knew about that, he’d probably hold a grudge against you, and that’s the last thing you needed right now. Gideon squinted his eyes at you and Eli, then replaced the expression with a calm wave, “Why hello there, friends of Mabel.”

“Hello Gideon...” You reluctantly greeted. “What’s up.” Eli nodded. Gideon chortled before turning to Mabel with a bit of suspicion in his eyes, “They** are** just your friends, right?” Mabel hastily stepped in front of Gideon, trying to block his view of her two _friends._ “Y-Yes! (Y/n) is like a cousin to me and Eli- He’s-” She turned around to look up at Eli, to which he smiled down at her in a kind gesture. Mabel blushed from the action and faced Gideon once again, “He’s cool!” She smiled nervously, trying to hide her feelings, but Gideon wouldn’t be fooled. He looked away from Mabel and up at Eli, an intense gaze on his chubby face as he whispered out, “...I see...”

Uh oh. That’s not good. Is there seriously going to be some sort of rivalry between Eli and Gideon?! That’s _really _not good considering what Gideon is capable of... “Well!-“ You leaned down to pick up the bags you dropped, “We’ll be seeing ya’! Bye Mabel!- _Let’sgoEli_-“ You quickly whispered out that last part for your brother’s ears only. Eli waved as he said goodbye to Mabel, completely disregarding Gideon, “See you Mabel.” Mabel laughed and waved farewell to the both of you, “Bye guys!” After a minute had passed, and you and Eli were a ways away from Gideon and Mabel, you let out a breath you were desperately holding. “That was close-“

“I think Mabel has a crush on me.” OH NO- How’d he find out?!... Well, when you think about it, it was kinda obvious.... But still, play dumb- “Whaaaat? No! What makes you say that?”

“Just a feeling.” Eli shrugged, “It’s cute. But it ain’t gonna happen.” At least Mabel wasn’t here to hear that- “Obviously.” You agreed, even though it hurt to for some reason, “Kinda like how Dipper has a crush on Wendy.” Eli had a smug look on his face the second you brought up the other twin, “And how you have a crush on Dipper?” Your glare transformed into a stare of mischief, “And how you also have a crush on Wendy?”

“...”

Silence hung in the air with an unbearable weight. Until you decided to brag about how you got Eli back with the teasing, “Unrequited love is in the air folks!” 

After you and Eli finally made it home and put away all the groceries, you immediately headed out to the Mystery Shack. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen the twins, _besides this morning_, or Grunkle Stan, who surprisingly, felt like family to you. You trotted up the stairs and stepped through the door, not bothering to announce your arrival. You only took three steps into the living room before you were full on, face to face with a pre-teen boy with brown curls all over his head. Dipper stood right in front of you, leaning towards you with a reprimanding look, “Hey- Where have you been for the past few days?!” 

“Why? You miss me?” He was way too close, your noses were practically touching, kinda. He must’ve noticed what you were thinking, so he took a step back and crossed his arms. “Not at all. But Mabel has.”

“Speaking of Mabes, where is she?” Dipper shifted his head to the side as he gazed at you in confusion, “You haven’t heard? She’s out on her second date with Little Gideon-“

“WHAT?!” Second date?! You mean, you missed the first?! Dipper leaned back when you shouted at him, “Yeah. She went on a date with him last night, and he’s been obsessed with her ever since we went to that Tent of Telepathy three days ago.” Are you kidding me? _‘So you’re telling me- I missed the performance at the Tent of Telepathy?! Seriously?!’_ Dipper continued to rant and pace as you grew frustrated of how you missed the start of the next episode. “-and apparently Mabel doesn’t know how to tell him no to these little dates of theirs.”

“How long is their date gonna last?” Dipper stopped pacing and stepped towards you, “I dunno. She might be gone all day.” Then you’ll wait here until she comes back! So she can tell you all about it! That- and because you have nothing better to do. “Then I’ll wait here, all day. For moral support.” You said proudly. Dipper’s eyes widened as he sighed out, “Uh oh.” Then it grew quiet between the two of you as you both stood there. So.... now what? Dipper was purposely looking away from you, guess your mere presence still ticks him off. “So uh...” You started up, “Have you um- Have you told her to say no to Gideon’s advances?”

“YES.” His answer surprised you a bit, making you flinch. “-I have! And she hasn’t done it yet!” You shrugged as he tapped his foot repeatedly on the ground. “Maybe it’s not as simple as it sounds?-“ He groaned as he turned around to face you, “Ugh. You sound like Mabel. It’s completely simple! It’s just one word! It’s not that hard telling someone how you really feel- I make sure you know how I feel about you every time I see you!” Yeah, he does. “Yeah...” You dragged out, “And you hate me.”

“Exactly!”

“But that’s the thing Dipper. That’s an- entirely different emotion. Maybe Mabel finds it easier to just.... say yes. It’s a bad idea but....” Dipper looked you up and down after you said those words. He didn’t say anything to you after that. 

After that conversation died out, Dipper left you alone downstairs as he barricaded himself in his room. You didn’t dare to follow him. You remained downstairs, watching TV as the sun started to set. What were you even doing here? Were you really that desperate to see this show play out in front of your very eyes? Night fell as the door slammed open, scaring you momentarily. That’s when Mabel rushed into the living room, and when she saw you, she immediately jumped you. “(Y/n)!” She tackled you as you sat on the couch, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and almost tipping over the chair from the force of her attack. “Whoa! H-Hey, Mabel. How was your uh- date?” She pulled back as quick as you had said that, hopping off of you. “Horrible! You’re **just** the person I wanted to see! I need someone to rant to!” You sit up straight and watched as Mabel walked back and forth across the carpet. “Dipper and I went to go see this performance at the Tent of Telepathy three days ago, and since then, Gideon has been asking me out on dates! And I don’t want to go on any dates with him because I don’t like him in that way but I don’t know how to say no!” Okay, seeing her fret about this situation on the show might’ve been slightly funny, but seeing it happen right in front of you was very worrying. “It’s going to be okay Mabel-“

“Is it though?” Her voice cracked, as if she was going to cry- Oh gosh. Please don’t cry- Mabel continued to pace as she talked to herself, “I mean, he’s so nice but- I can’t keep doing this. But I can’t break his heart. I have no way out-“ Dipper suddenly walked into the room, addressing his sister, “What in the heck happened on that date?” Mabel spun towards her brother, “I don't know! I was in the friend zone, and then before I knew what was happening, he pulled me into the romance zone. It was like quick sand!” She grabbed her brother with both arms, whispering in horror, “Chubby quicksand.” Dipper gently pushed her away, “Mabel, come on. It's not like you're gonna have to marry Gideon-“

And- he spoke too soon, cause next thing you know, Grunkle Stan stepped into the room wearing a shirt that said "Team Gideon" on it. “Great news, Mabel. You have to marry Gideon!”

“WHAT?!” Mabel screeched. “Um... am I interrupting something?” Of all people, Eli poked his head from the hallway and tried to read the room, but failed. Why is Eli even here? “Okay, this is a lot to take in.” You jumped down from the couch and walked towards your brother. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to walk you home! It’s dark out!-“ You both looked away from each other, noticing how all eyes were on you now. “...Excuse us for a moment.” Eli grasped you by the arm and guided you out of the living room and into the hallway. The both of you stood right in the area between the stairs and the door. “Okay, what the heck is going on?”

“Ever since Mabel and Dipper went to the Tent of Telepathy, Gideon has taken a liking to her. And I mean a liking. He keeps asking her out on dates she doesn’t want to go on and Mabel won’t say no and now she has to marry him!” Your long explanation came out with no pauses in between. Eli stared at you blankly for two seconds, until he snapped out of his trance, “...What?” That's when the two of you directed your attention to Mabel, who ran right up the stairs you stood by, screaming all the way. “Uh oh.” You said aloud, then peered up at Eli, “I’ll go- see what’s wrong. Mabel!” You rushed up the stairs, leaving Eli behind. Not soon after, Dipper followed closely behind you, calling out, “Hey! We need to talk!” You stopped at the top of the stairs, entering the dark hallway. You looked around and then down at Dipper, “...Are you talking to me?” 

Dipper made his way over and stood by your side in the hallway, rolling his eyes, “Duh. Who else would I be talking to? It’s just you and me in this hallway... Alone. ...” 

You both remained quiet after he said that.”...You worded that weirdly.” You teased. Dipper actually blushed, _oh wow_, and flailed his arms about, “I- I know I did! Look- I got a plan to help Mabel with her relationship issues.”

“And that would be?”

He began to walk down the halls and towards the attic, expecting you to follow. Which you did. “I’m gonna break them up for her, since she can’t do it on her own. Wait here.” He held his hand out to stop you and then entered the attic through a door. You hear muffled voices as you stood on the other side._ ‘He’s gonna break off the relationship for her? I already know how this is gonna end. Badly.’ _You heard footsteps from behind you, seeing that it was only Eli. “Eli-“

“I can't take this anymore. Move.” Confused, you stepped out of the way, letting Eli walk into the attic as well. Okay, what the heck was he doing? You went after him, curious to what he was planning on doing. Eli approaches Mabel as she sat on the floor, slowly re-emerging from “Sweater Town.” “E-Eli!” She stuttered as he squatted down in front of her, “Hey Mabel... Do you want me to break up with Gideon for you?”

**....What.**

“What?!” You and Dipper shouted at the same time. Mabel slowly looked up at Eli with glossy eyes, “You’d do that?” He can’t! This wasn’t part of the actual episode- “No! He can't-“ You tried to intervene, but your brother cut you off, “Do **you **wanna do it for her?”

“Well, no-“

“Then I’ll do it.” Eli straightened up from his stance and smiled proudly at Mabel. You tried to get him to reconsider, not knowing if this will have a small or huge impact on the show’s future events! This was starting to feel like more of a Butterfly effect video game than a cartoon show for kids. Dipper stepped up to Eli, determination on his face, “I should do it! I am her brother after all.” Eli shrugged, ”Sure- But I’m more intimidating.” Mabel bounced up and placed her hands on both Dipper's shoulder and Eli’s arm, “Maybe both of you can do it!”

“Oh no...” You groaned and placed a hand on your face. Her smile only grew as she continued to talk, “You guys can gang up on him! Like a tag team!”

“But let Dipper do the talking, okay?” You added. Dipper sent you a confused look at your comment. “I don’t see why not.” Eli slapped Dipper’s arm, “I'll be your bodyguard. Brains and Brons.” Dipper didn’t know how to respond to that. Mabel pulled _her_ brother and_ your_ brother into a group hug, “OH- THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” 

And now you’re here. At this very fancy restaurant where Gideon and Mabel’s third date was suppose to take place at. You and Mabel were waiting outside in the dark while Dipper and Eli were inside breaking the news to Gideon. This time, it was your turn to pace, “This is bad. This is bad.”

“What could be so bad about it?”

You stared at Mabel, without saying a word. _What is bad about it? _You already know how this all ends, so why were you so anxious right now? “Mabel. Doesn’t this feel... wrong?” Mabel tilted her head, “Wrong? How?”

“Mabel-“ You sighed and rubbed your hands together, “Shouldn’t it be you who breaks up with him?” Not Dipper, and _especially _not Eli. He’s not even supposed to exist if you were really looking into it. Mabel gave you a look that was a combination of guilt and worry. “(Y/n)-“ She interrupted herself when Dipper and Eli stepped outside, walking up to you both. Mabel ran to meet them halfway, you on the other hand, remained where you were. “How'd it go? Was he mad? Did he try to read your minds with his psychic powers?” Mabel asked the two boys as they sent her reassuring smiles. Dipper shook his head, “Don't worry, Mabel, he's just a kid. He doesn't have any powers.”

“You're home free, Mabel.” Eli winked and Mabel shouted with joy. “This is it! It’s over! It’s finally over!” Mabel skipped away with glee as Dipper and Eli followed happily. You stood off to the side, watching them with a terrible gut feeling, “This is bad.” 

It’s the next day after that Gideon fiasco. Once again, you and Eli were walking down the street with bags of groceries. Apparently, you guys got the wrong type of bread. This time, it was you wearing the hoodie, trying to bury your face and problems deep inside. Would Eli getting involved effect anything in the show? Who knows? Maybe everything will run through smoothly. Why were you even worried about it in the first place? It’s not as if it was a life changing decision! You sighed aloud. “At least it can't get any worse than this-“

And it did! Just as you said that, you ran into Gideon Gleeful himself! You stopped yourself from crashing into him, reeling back in shock. “Gah! Gideon!” There goes your paranoia- Eli glances over your shoulder, “Oh, look it's Gideon. What's up, you lil' gremlin?”

“Eli!-“ You prepared to scold him for insulting a child who has relations with a demon, but Gideon started to speak. “(Y/n) and Eli. What a surprise. What a surprise... So! How's your day goin' along?” Oh gosh. His jolly accent has a bit of spite in it. You bounced yourself up and down as some sort of nervous tick, a weary grin on your face. “Oh, us? We're absolutely splendid!- What do you want with us?” Your chipper tone switched to dread at that last part. Gideon smiles brightly and held his hands together, “Nothing! Nothing at all- Just- Passin' through.” You didn’t believe that for a second. He got dumped by his crush by the very guy standing right in front of him. Speaking of Eli, he started speaking again, “Alright then. Hey- No hard feelings about last night right?”_ All hard feelings._ “Of course not!” Gideon giggles and swatted at the air. “Great. So....” Eli trailed off into silence as you all looked at each other. You’ve been apart of a lot of awkward silences for these past few days. “Um. See you around, I guess. Come on (Y/n).” Eli nudged you to follow, which you didn’t hesitate in doing, “Bye- Gideon...” You really wanted to run away, but you decided to just speed walk. Gideon waved at your retreating forms, “So long, you kindred siblings!” He then whispered creepily to himself, “So long.” 

It’s later on in the day, and you were heading downstairs as you heard a voice on the home phone. “Great! Then I’ll see you there!” Eli hung up with a dramatic flare. “Who was that?” You called out to him as you descended the staircase. Eli brushed you off. “No one. I’m off.”

“To where?” You followed him closely to the front door. “Somewhere you can’t go. They asked that I show up alone. Sorry sis’.” Show up alone? _Alone._ Your eyes widened as realization dawned. That was probably the **fake** phone call that was really just a_ set up_ planned by Gideon! He did it to Dipper in this episode- Lured him out to a secluded place and tried to finish him off for ruining his relationship with Mabel! He must be after your brother now! “Eli! You can’t go!” He held his hand on the doorway as he was halfway out the door. He turned his head to look at you, “Why not?” You remained silent, debating if this is the best time to tell him everything. But before you could decide, Eli scoffed, “You won’t tell me. Of course. There’s food in the fridge, help yourself out.” He slammed the door, on his way to the trap. “W-Wait!” You stepped away to grab some shoes and put them on, then rushed outside. “Wait!-“ He was gone. You were too late. “Oh no- What now?!” You contemplated on what you could do... You snapped your fingers, “The Mystery Shack! Duh.” 

You ran all the way to the Mystery Shack as the sun began to go down. You were heading there to find Dipper and Mabel, but when you arrived, there was only Wendy, who was sitting on the steps outside. “Wendy!” You ran up to her, slightly out of breath. Okay, okay, completely out of breath. “Whoa- Where’s the fire?” Wendy inquired due to your breathless state. You were hunched over at the moment, regaining the air you'd lost, “Wendy- Where’s Mabel?” You didn’t ask for Dipper, assuming that he was lured away from the Mystery Shack by Gideon a while ago. “She just took off in that direction. Don’t know where to exactly. Something about an honest break up?”

You jumped up in shock, “-Gideon!” After that, you took off into the forest, trying to find Mabel. As you did, a bright yellow light burst to life from behind you, and a triangular figure floated by your side as you ran. “Whoa there kid! Do you even know where you’re going?” Bill held his hands up, gesturing as he talked. You slowed down a bit, “N-No, but-“

“And even if you did, Mabel took a bike and barely gets there in the nick of time. You’re about to head over there on foot! You’ll never make it.” Your running got even slower until you came to a complete, defeated stop. The noise of animals and forest trees was all you heard as you silently stared at the dirt. “Say....” Bill floated down to your level, “How about I help you out?” You watched Bill with suspicion, “What are you saying?” He held out his hand as a blue flame enveloped his entire palm. _He wanted to make a deal._ “No way!” You shouted as you took a step back. “Oh come on! Just one little deal-“

“No! I know better than to make deals with you!” You pointed accusingly at him as you continued to step away. “So that’s it? You’re just gonna **abandon **your friends and family?” Yikes. Why’d he have to word it like that? “I-.... Trust that Mabel will save them. Goodbye Cipher.” You turned around and walked away, even with your back facing him you could see the yellow shine from his body. “You haven’t heard of the last of me kid! That’s a promise....” 

“I hope Eli’s okay...” You muttered to yourself while sitting on the couch in your living room, waiting for your older brother to return. He can handle Little Gideon. Dipper and Mabel did when the episode premiered, so this shouldn’t be any different! ...Right? 

The sound of the front door opening caught you by surprise, and a few seconds later, an exhausted Eli flops face first onto the very couch you were sitting on. You scooted over to make some room as you sighed with relief, “You okay?” Eli sighed rather dramatically as his answer, then lifted his head off the cushions to stare at you. “What happened out there? You look terrible.” He did look terrible. His hair was all over the place and his eyes were kinda red. ”It was a fake call.” He started, “Turns out Gideon decided to bait Dipper and I into a remote location. Then he tried to kill us. With a pair of scissors.” Yikes. Just like how he does in the actual episode. So it seemed like everything was still going the same way as the show. “Why would Gideon do that?” You already knew why. “Because he wasn’t too keen on the two of us dumping him so Mabel wouldn't have to. He was saying how we got in the way of the relationship. He especially had a grudge against me though.” Eli sat up correctly and pressed a hand against his forehead, “But then Mabel came along and broke up with him face to face, and fought him off by taking this amulet around his neck that granted him telekinetic powers and- ...Hearing it out loud sounds completely ridiculous doesn’t it?” You laughed and smiled at your brother, “Not at all.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not. Anyways, by the end of the day, I got saved by those kids again- And I won’t complain this time.” Eli sighed very loudly once again, slowly seeping into the comfort of the couch, “I might just crash on this couch for the night. I don’t feel like moving anymore...” These adventures you guys were having here in Gravity Falls were kind of draining afterwards. “Yeah, I understand.” You hopped off the couch and headed to your room upstairs, “Night Eli.”

“...I’m so done with this psycho adventure stuff. I hope that was the last of it...” Was all you heard from your tired sibling as you ascended the stairs. “Do I have some bad news for you, Eli...”


End file.
